When a person dies, the individual leaves behind an estate. The estate is comprised of everything in which the decedent had an ownership interest in at the time of the death of the decedent. Some estates are very large, being comprised of complicated and complex assets while other estate are modest and may only include a small amount of personal property. Regardless of the size or value, however, almost everyone leaves behind some type of estate when they die. Probate is the legal process that … [Read more...] about What Is Probate?
Can My Estate Avoid Probate?
A well-drafted estate plan should accomplish far more than simple designing a roadmap to be followed in the event of your death. Most estate plans, in fact, attempt to achieve several goals and objectives within the plan. One of those is probate avoidance. Once you have a better understanding of what the probate process entails you will likely understand why you may wish to have your estate avoid probate as well. Probate is the legal process that follows the death of an individual. Probate has … [Read more...] about Can My Estate Avoid Probate?
What Are the Drawbacks of Probate?
You may have heard that one of the biggest advantages to having a comprehensive estate plan in place is that it can dramatically decrease your estate’s exposure to probate, if not avoid probate altogether. Of course, for that to be an incentive to create your estate plan, however, you need to know the drawbacks of probate first. Probate is the legal process that is required of most estates following the death of an individual. When you die, you will leave behind and estate. Your estate may be … [Read more...] about What Are the Drawbacks of Probate?
Can Probate Be Avoided?
Probate is the legal process that follows the death of an estate owner. One purpose of probate is to ensure that all your assets are identified and eventually disbursed to your intended beneficiaries or heirs. The probate process, however, can be lengthy and costly, leading to the question “ Can probate be avoided? ” With careful estate planning, it is possible to dramatically decrease, if not completely eliminate, your estate’s exposure to probate after your death. When you die, all of your … [Read more...] about Can Probate Be Avoided?
Do You Want to Allow Public Access to Your Final Affairs?
Would you want the general public to have access to information regarding everything that took place while your estate was being administered? A whole lot of people would say no for a number of different reasons. First there is just the general idea of privacy. Why should anyone and everyone be able to pry into your final affairs, even people that you do not know? In addition to this some people have very specific personal reasons why they would not want anyone to be able to access this … [Read more...] about Do You Want to Allow Public Access to Your Final Affairs?
Link Executor to Probate Lawyer
The process of estate planning can seem to be conceptual as you settle on your intentions and go about having the appropriate documents executed to state your wishes in a legally binding manner. However, when you die, having someone take action will be necessary to make your wishes become a reality. Depending on the complexity of your estate and the nature of your assets there could be a great deal of business that must be conducted before your heirs actually receive their inheritances. When … [Read more...] about Link Executor to Probate Lawyer
Asset Erosion During Probate
If you want to get the maximum amount of money into the hands of your loved ones after you pass away, you need to consider the asset erosion that can take place during the probate process. Your estate is going to have to be probated if you use a last will to direct the distribution of your resources to your heirs. Probate provides an opportunity for disgruntled parties to challenge your wishes, and it is also set up to allow for creditors and claimants to step forward seeking satisfaction. In … [Read more...] about Asset Erosion During Probate
Why Do Some People Avoid Probate?
The most common vehicle of asset transfer in the field of estate planning is the last will, but it is important to understand that you do have other options. Why would someone want to seek an alternative to a last will? Depending on the exact nature of your assets and the specificity of your wishes there could be a number of reasons. But for most people probate avoidance would be the motivation for seeking another way to transfer assets to your loved ones. So this brings up the question of why … [Read more...] about Why Do Some People Avoid Probate?
