When a person passes away, their assets are ordinarily distributed according to the terms of their will through probate court. With that being said, not all assets are required to go through this process. Obvious assets which need to go through probate are those that are titled in your name only, such as vehicles, property, investments, and more, as only the probate court can remove your name from ...
When a person passes away, their assets are ordinarily collected and distributed according to the terms of their will (or to their closest living relatives if no will is present) through a process known as probate . This process is notorious for being lengthy, costly, and confusing, especially in the event that a dispute should arise among beneficiaries. Fortunately, there are many things that you ...
Estate planning and probate are both processes which determine how your estate will be distributed among your inheritors upon your passing. Estate planning refers to the preparations and instructions you make for how you would like your assets to be handled. Probate is the process by which your wishes are carried out and your estate is distributed after your death. On the surface this may seem ...
Probate is a very big factor to consider when you are planning your estate. There are potentially numerous different parties that would have an interest in your estate. For this reason, your estate must be probated when you use a last will to arrange for the distribution of your personally owned property. The process of probate is in place to allow the business of the estate to be conducted before ...
People sometimes envision a hypothetical scenario. After a funeral family members gather in private and someone very close to the deceased somberly reads the last will. This person will distribute inheritances and everything is settled. The Probate Process In fact the above is a myth. The estate must pass through the process of probate before anyone will receive an inheritance. During this process ...
If you want to contest a family member’s Will it is important that you do everything right and within designated time frames. Probate Courts will not wait for you to learn what you need to do, nor will they make allowances if you miss deadlines. The battle over Sherman Hemsley’s Will is a good illustration of this. About a month before he passed away, Hemsley wrote a Will and left everything to a ...
Everyone knows that there are more important things in life than money. However, when we feel aggrieved, it’s often hard to remember that, especially after the death of a loved one. This sometimes leads to poorly thought out estate challenges after someone does not receive an expected inheritance. There is no doubt that it hurts when you do not receive the inheritance you expected and think you ...
Sometimes, you might be expecting to receive an inheritance and you know what to do with it before it comes. However, if you receive an unexpected inheritance, you might not know what all of your options are and what to do with the inheritance. An estate planning attorney can assist you in making sure that you do everything you need to do with the inheritance. In some cases, you might not want the ...
Many people share a common belief that probate should be avoided at all costs, so instead of hiring an attorney to come up with an estate plan they devise their own schemes. For example, most people know that if two people are on a real estate deed as joint tenants, when one person passes away the entire property automatically passes to the surviving joint tenant. As a result of this knowledge, ...
if you have been appointed as guardian over an adult relative, it is not enough in New York to only manage the your relative’s financial affairs. You have explicit duties and responsibilities under New York law that you must faithfully carry out. A New York probate attorney can explain your duties in detail and even help you with some of them. The basic responsibilities are described below. The ...
If you have an incapacitated adult relative who is unable to provide for his or her own needs, you might be able to have a court appoint you as a guardian in New York. This is often necessary if an elder relative does not have an effective General Durable Power of Attorney. You will need to go to court to be appointed as a guardian of an adult relative, so consider the services of a New York ...
Many people fear that a spouse from a second marriage will not leave assets to the children of a previous marriage. If you leave all of your assets to your spouse in a simple will, this is a real concern. The second spouse is under no obligation to leave assets to your children from a previous marriage in his or her own will. Even if you and your spouse create joint wills that leave assets to all ...
In most situations, you can disinherit your heirs by simply leaving them out of your will . However, you generally cannot disinherit your spouse by will. According to most state’s probate laws, although you can disinherit any of your other relatives by written will, you cannot disinherit your spouse. Absent a valid prenuptial agreement created before you and your spouse married, you cannot use ...
Some clients ask whether avoiding probate also avoids the federal estate tax. Both probate and the federal estate tax deal with your estate, but avoiding one doesn’t avoid the other. To answer the question, if you avoid probate, you don’t necessarily avoid the federal estate tax. What is Probate? What’s the Federal Estate Tax? Probate is the process of validating a will, if there is one, and ...
When creating your will , you must appoint an executor to handle your estate’s affairs during the probate process. This person will be helping you and your loved ones in a number of ways. Are you unsure of the duties that your executor will face during the probate process? Take a look at some of the information below to learn more. If you have any questions about probate or your executor’s duties, ...
Probate terms can be confusing because you don’t use them in every day conversation. Probate terms are likely additionally confusing because you are exposed to them in a time of great loss and mourning. When a loved one dies, it is a difficult time to be learning anything, let alone legal lingo. Here are some probate terms. We find it helpful for clients to have information in writing and to be ...
JOIN US FOR A FREE WORKSHOP THIS WEEKEND TO LEARN THE FOLLOWING: Elder Law and Medicaid Planning Medicaid needs arise when you least expect them. Americans are living longer than before. At the turn of the 20th century, life expectancy was about 47 years. In the 21st Century, life expectancy has doubled. As a result, we face more challenges and transitions in our lives than those who came before ...
It is common for families not to talk about such things as what they will inherit when mom and dad is gone. This type of conversation can be uncomfortable for parents, and make children feel as if they are doing something wrong for even thinking about such things. As a result the subject is often swept under the rug until the time comes that there is no choice but to talk about it. This can lead ...
When you are planning your estate you will hear about the possibility of implementing strategies that enable probate avoidance, but this may leave you with a somewhat mistaken impression. The reasons why avoiding probate can be attractive is because there are significant costs associated with probate, and the process can be lengthy. Clearly most people want to preserve the value of their estates, ...
Common sense goes a long way in every aspect of life, and it is vital to the process of estate planning as well. You just need to understand the asset transfer vehicles that are available to you and utilize them in an intelligent and well-timed manner. Depending on the specific details of your estate and the dynamics of your family, you may find that the best strategies for you are rather simple ...
Most people want to help their beneficiaries by sparing them the time and stress associated with having to go through the probate process after their death. Probate is a process enacted by the court which oversees the distribution of your assets and the settling of your estate upon your death. If you die intestate (in other words, without a Will), the process of settling your estate will be ...