Archive for the ‘Probate Court’ Category
Another estate planning vehicle available for consideration!
While there will be the need to perform a trust administration after your death, the assets in your Living Trust avoid the delay and cost associated with the death probate process.
There will be no probate legal professionals fees or court costs.
Because probate is avoided, your estate planning goals will not be subject to public scrutiny as is often the case in probate proceedings. A Living Trust provides privacy. Because Probate is a public process, anyone can find out how much you had,to whom you left your assets, and other information about you. They do not even need a good reason. They could be nosy neighbors or jealous relatives, or people with unscrupolus intentions.
With a Living Trust, there is no need for direction or assistance from the probate court or probate legal professionals. Your Trust will completely eliminate these unnecessary costs.
Most important of all, is that your estate can be distributed instantly at your death, because there are no judges nor bureaucrats to please.
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In addition to the expense and frequent long delay of the probate process, a family may also be liable for death taxes.!
There are two types of death taxes in the USA. The federal tax and the State inheritance tax. Confirm with the gov’t officials in your area re their death tax procedure as you plan your estate and Will.
In the USA, the federal estate tax is one of the largest taxes a family will ever have to pay. !
It is a tax on your right to transfer property to others at your death.
Currently, in the USA. the federal estate tax rates are at 45% of every dollar in your estate over the amount of an exemption usually available. Always investigate your options in other countries.
Additional , most states have death or inheritance tax. !
Some probate fees are calculated in such a way, that is unfair to some families !
Some States/Prov. sets the probate fees that your legal or personal representative can charge, and some allow any fees that the Court considers reasonable, without limitations. Others, limit the fees to a fixed percentage of the estate.
Either method is expensive !
At each spouses death, probate fees are possible depending on how title was held at the time of death. A married couple could pay some form of probate fees on the death of each spouse.
Many families are troubled at the way some States/Prov., arrive at the size of their estate.
Those areas that use the percentage of estate value method, their fees are calculated on the estate’s gross value and not the actual equity held.! This valueation method unfairly increases the size of the estate resulting in much larger probate fees.
Discuss the value of assets with your insurance agent, your banker, your legal representative and any others and let them help you lay out an estate plan that maximizes the results that will be left for your family.
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The treatment by the courts and some legal professionals of some now deceased Celebrities Estates, is causing many of today’s Celebrities to re-focus their attention back to re-examine how their own status is with their legal advisors.
No longer, is it just good enough to work with only a lawyer, or notary, insurance advisor or financial planner, it is being discovered by some that one is far better off to work and plan with several of these legal professionals.
Take a look at the estate picture of the late Mr. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, SR. ?
HIS GROSS ESTATE SIZE WAS: $26,771,834.00. SETTLEMENT COSTS WERE: $16,991,640.00 LEAVING ONLY $9,780,194.00 ! FOR A 63% percent reduction !
AND ANOTHER WEALTHY INDIVIDUAL, MR. FREDERICK VANDERBILT: HIS GROSS ESTATE WAS $76,838,530.00. SETTLEMENT COSTS WERE $42,846,112.00 LEAVING ONLY $33,992,418.00 ! ( More than half eaten up by settlement costs ) !
A frequent question asked is “ DOES A WILL AVOID A DEATH PROBATE?
The answer, NO. The fact is if assets pass through a Will, probate is needed.! The word Probate comes from the Latin, and it means “ to prove the Will. ”
All property that is controlled by your Will must go through the probate court, and once your estate enters the probate process, it is trapped in the system until the judge releases it .!
Another question then is asked : “ Rather than a WILL, does a LIVING TRUST AVOID A DEATH PROBATE ?
The answer is YES!……. ALL ASSETS TRANSFERRED TO A LIVING TRUST COMPLETELY AVOID THE PROBATE PROCESS BOTH DURING YOUR LIFE AND AT YOUR DEATH ! Though this will cost more to set up, the savings can still be enormous.
That is why the position of this blog material suggests to involve as many of one’s family members in their Estate Planning process as possible for their protection.
The oh so slow progress of one’s estate through probate often becomes very frustrating for the family sometimes causing arguements among members who would normally seek support from one another following a death.
That is because this complex process usually takes between one and two years to complete.! While that may seem like a long time, there are some that take years to settle.!
Though many families believe their estates are simple, it would still be impossible to close a full probate in less than a year, due to all the legal steps that must be completed to satisfy the Court.
Because the family loses control of the estate during probate, they can pay an emotional price as well and should use caution to avoid infighting within the family due to the slowness of the probate system.
To be certain that you are as knowledgable as possible , one can see why it is so vitally important to use the most informed legal professionals for guidance in planning your estate. There are no short-cuts to completing these valueable documents!
Estate Details Are Not Private In Probate Court?
posted by bruceE @ 12:16 PM
Friday, February 12, 2010
There is an oft asked question. “ Are the details of an Estate kept private in Probate Court ?
The answer is NO ! All probate proceedings are open to the public !
Anyone, who may be interested in your affairs, can pull up your probate file and examine every detail of your financial life !
The file will disclose an inventory and appraisal of every asset you owned at death. !
It reveals the name of all your creditors and amount owed to each.! It lays out the names of all your beneficiaries and the amount and conditions of their inheritances. ! This information is often compiled and SOLD to those who use the information to sell products and services to vulnerable surviving family members !
If you owned a business, it can be extremely damaging, because your competitors will have an abundance of your confidential business information readily available in your probate file.
This blog continuously urges individuals to take the time to investigate with their financial advisor, lawyer, notary or whomever they choose, and to discuss all the ramifications of the decisions they want to make in their final estate plan.
Remember………the ball is in your court ! How you handle it , is SOLELY UP TO YOU !
These Celebrities did not pay enough attention to their estate planning and Wills preparations and it cost them heavily !
W.C. FIELD’s estate was $884,680.00, settlement costs were $329,793.00 leaving $554,877.00 !
HUMPHREY BOGART’s estate was $808,378.00, settlement costs were $172,466.00 leaving $635,912.oo !
GARY COOPER’s estate was $4,339,968.00, settlement costs were $885,437.00 leaving $3,454,531.00 !
CECIL B. DeMILLE’s estate was $4,043,607.00, settlement costs were $1,396,064.00 leaving $2,647,543.00 !
WALT DISNEY’s estate was $20,982,796.00, settlement costs were $4,789,888.00 leaving $16,192,908.00 !
ELVIS PRESLEY’s estate was $6,332,882.00, settlement costs were $3,542,083.00 leaving $2,790,799.00 !
Probate fees can be very expensive ! At the moment, it is known that the average cost is between 2% and 4% of the gross value of the estate!
60% goes to lawyers, and 40% goes to personal representatives and others.
Remember, every dollar that goes to pay probate costs is a dollar that could benefit your family, and opportunities can be lost because the cumbersome probate system moves so slowly.
With ever-changing legal and taxation laws, planning your estate, with the best legal professionals guarantee’s the proper advice to suit each individuals personal situation. There are no short-cuts !
With the estate planning accomplished, take the next step to REGISTER THE LOCATION OF WHERE YOUR VALUEABLE DOCUMENTS ARE GOING TO BE STORED WITH A WORLDS WILLS LOCATION REGISTRY for easy retrieval when needed without costly legal searches.
REMEMBER, IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TESTATOR TO INSURE THEIR MOST RECENT WILL CAN BE FOUND !
Can you be accused of poor estate planning and leaving messy details and anguish for your family because you did not leave a WILL ?
Can you be accused as well, that if you did leave a Will, did you register its location with a worlds wills location registry so it can be easily found when needed by the family and executor?
If you said YES to both accusations, you are joining some famous people like the following who died without a Will , and through poor estate planning lost a significant amount of their money in heavy settlement costs !
Clark Gable’s estate was $2,478,299.00. The settlement costs were $772,811.00, leaving a net estate of $1,705,488.00 ?
Al Jolson’s estate was $4,385,143.00, The settlement cost was $1,349,066.00, leaving a net estate of $3,036,077.00 ?
Marilyn Munroe’s estate was $544,810.oo. The settlement costs were $174,384.00, leaving a net estate of $370,426.00 ?
Franklin D Roosevelt’s estate was $1,940,999.00. The settlement costs were $574,867.00 leaving an estate of $1,366,132’00
( Once Wills go through the Probate Court, the Will information then becomes a public record in the courts,)
Do you want to lose an unnecessary amount of your money from your estate, and incurr additional legal costs through bad planning on your part ?
Isn’t the above history of these famous people enough motivation for you to investigate how YOUR estate planning can be handled to minimize your possible losses ?
THE GOOD_ _ THE BAD _ _ AND THE UGLY _ _ _OF SOME PROBATE FEES !
Some families may consider the way probate fees are calculated as being unfair to the family.?
Some states/prov. laws, sets the fees that probate representatives may charge. Many allow representatives to charge any fee that the court would consider reasonable, without limitations. Others, limit the fees to a fixed percentage of the value of the estate. These fees can be expensive under either method.
Cosider the late William E. Boeing estate results showing a 47% reduction in the estate value ? The estate was valued at $22,386,158.00. total settlement costs were $10,589,748.00 , leaving a net estate value of only $11,796,410.00 ? By any standard, that is extremely expensive as most would agree.
Depending on how title was held on the date of death, a married couple could pay some form of probate fees on the death of each spouse. Again a firm reminder for individuals to use the services of a qualified legal professional when they start their estate planning to minimize these sometime costly fees.
Because a WILL only takes effect at the time of your death, the answer is NO. A Will has no control over events during your life.
When the word Probate is mentioned, many people think it is only something that happens when you die!
Most people unaware of these processes, do not realize that probate can also happen while you are alive. It might be referred to as a living probate, but in legal language it is called a “conservatorship “ or “guardianship proceeding ”
If you become mentally disabled before you die, the probate court will appoint someone to take control of all your assets and personal affairs.
These court appointed agents must file very strict annual accountings with the court, causing the entitre process to be very expensive, time-consuming and most of all, humiliating!