Team Legal Probate Services
Probate is the court supervised distribution of
your assets if you don’t have a living trust and can be a
long, expensive process that simply does not have to occur. The expense
of this process as compared to the expense of administering a living
trust should be calculated to decide whether, in your case, creation of
a living trust is a better solution.
Death is
a difficult time for everyone concerned, and you may want to protect
your family from having to go to probate court, if there is a better
solution in your case.
The
probate process usually involves…
•
Filing a deceased person’s will with the local probate court
•
Taking an inventory/getting appraisals
•
Publishing notices
•
Paying all legal debts
•
Distributing the remaining assets and property to the rightful heirs
Probate
may require an “executor” and an
“attorney.” Sometimes the executor is referred to
as the “personal representative.” The executor is
responsible for making sure the Last Will and Testament is followed.
The executor often hires an attorney to handle the necessary paperwork.
Executors
and attorneys are allowed to charge “reasonable
fees” for their services. Executors who are family members
frequently waive their own fees where the estate is small, but they are
not obliged to do so. Some additional fees beyond those paid to the
attorney and executor include court costs, filing fees, etc. These fees
are paid out before any proceeds are distributed to the
decedent’s family.
Our
services include the preparation and filing of your court documents and
scheduling of the required hearings.
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