Posts Tagged ‘Probate Court’
Finally, after the court is satisfied that all legal requirements have been met, it will order all debts, claims, taxes, attorney”s fees and the personal representative ‘s compensation and any other miscelaneous expenses to be paid.
If there is not enough cash in the estate to pay these substantial claims, the judge can order that assets be sold at public auctions or estate sales.
These transactions are often conducted in a depressed market or under the heading of “distressed sales “.
Only after all the bills are paid will the probate court distribute the estate to the beneficiaries named in the Will: or if there is no Will, to the designated heirs at law.
The court then closes the file !
Get the best legal counsel you can right at the start. After reading some of the problems possible , every adult would be very wise to quickly become familiar with a lawyer, notary, financial planner etc. to avoid facing major problems.
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Register the Location of where you will keep your Will so it can be easily found when needed with a WORLDS WILLS LOCATIONS REGISTRY.
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Does Joint Tenancy or Tenancy by the Entirety avoid a Death Probate ?
Well, sometimes it can :
In the case of a husband and wife who own their assets in joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety, there’s no death probate when the first spouse dies because title passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant.
However, when the surviving spouse dies, there will be a complete probate on the entire estate.!
The fact that joint tenancy ownership or tenancy by the entirety avoids death probate at the first spouse’s death, it is a small reward for the many other disadvantages of joint tenancy ownership.
It is possible that it can lead to huge unexpected liability when parents and children own assets together.
In community property states/prov’s, it may create a capital gains tax problem.
It may, and can create unintended beneficiaries and often causes gift and death tax problems in some jurisdictions.
For these reasons, many estate planning experts concur that joint tenancy may not be the best planning avenue to follow ?
Identified sometimes as the Perils of Probate, individuals should see and understand the importance of working with a legal professional at all times to be certain to avoid the many pitfalls that could confront any novice attempting to stickhandle around the legality of probate.
This blog constantly reminds individuals to use estate planners, financial planners, lawyers, notaries, trust officers and insurance planners to get the best counsel available today. They are all available , and often give free advice when they are first contacted.
The information often given on this blog, is general information only and individuals should always seek the opinions of their legal counsel before making any legal decisions. The constantly changing legal laws make that necessary.
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ONLY 3 days until your chance to take a Diabetes Risk Test on Tuesday March 23rd. This program is promoted by the American Diabetes Association to remind people to check to see if they are at risk for Type 2 diabetes, as they expect another seven thousand plus new diabetic’s this year.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE OWNS PROPERTY IN ANOTHER PROV/STATE ?
A probate must be instituted not only in the prov/state where you live, but in every prov/state where you owned real estate. This is called ancillary probate.
Each prov/state, has probate jurisdiction of the real property within its borders.
What that means, is that your family will have to file a new probate in each area and hire local counsel to represent the estate.
Thusly, this will add expenses that must be paid before your family may receive it’s share !
With ever changing laws, one can see the importance of using a good legal professional in designing your estate .
Check to see if you have Type 2 diabetes on Tuesday March 23rd, the American Diabetes Risk Test day.
In suggestion no.3, we said that an accurate inventory and appraisal of all items had to be made.
Once all the debts and claims have been submitted and approved, they’re presented to the court for approval to pay them from the assets of the estate. Since it is possible that some estates may also have death tax liability, they must stay open until those taxes are paid.
This can be the volatile period of the probate process.
During the entire probate process, disgruntled heirs or those who disagree with the provisions in the Will, can bring a lawsuit in the probate court. This is when someone contests the Will.
They can hold up the distribution of the estate and quite often are used to intimidate heirs into settling cases that really have no merit.
People can minimize some of these difficulties by having a good legal professional work with them in when they begin drafting their Wills and Estate Plans. They will receive the legal guidance to avoid some of these pitfalls.
Only 8 days to finalize your visit to your Doctor for the Diabetes Risk Test day, Tuesday March 23rd, ?
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with your Will, and full estate planning.
What many, many need but fail to act, is help to begin the process of collecting all the information they will require. Licences, registrations, mortgages, bank loans, birth certificates, marriage license, divorce papers, property titles and locations, etc. and any good financial/legal advisor will explain any others.
Several portions of this blog over the last year has offered simple and easy to follow guidance and direction to valueable sources to help you finalize this very important action for the protection of your family’s future.
A Diabetes Risk Test is suggested you take Tuesday March 23rd. Only 11 days to think about it , and the Worlds Wills Locations Registry offer you congratulations for doing so.
A third step in the probate process:
During probate all assets in the Estate are usually FROZEN so that an accurate inventory and appraisal can be made.
That simply means, that during thios period NONE of the assets can be distributed or sold without written permission from the court.
Quite often the court will require formal written appraisals for many items, such as real estate, antiques, collectibles, automobiles, furniture and other valueable assets.
Here again, appraisal fees can become expensive and like All probate expenses, are paid out of the estate funds.
People can quite often make amazing savings on these time consuming efforts by the court, by making and having on hand their own up-to-date assets and possessions inventory recorded, and stored with the location of their Will.
Please mark on your calender, ONLY 13 days until the American Diabetes Risk Test offering on March 23rd. The time spent will be a good investment on your health.
A reader asks…….Who starts this process ?
A formal written petition to the court along with a filing fee must be submitted to the court to start the probate process.
One of the courts first jobs is to approve or appoint someone to handle the affairs of the estate. This person is called the executor, administor or personal representative depending upon the rules of the state/prov, and whether the decedent died with or without a Will.
We will call this agent of the estate a “personal representative”.
Generally, the first thing the personal representative does is hire an experienced probate attorney, although that may not always be a legal requirement.
In many cases, hiring an attorney may become a practical necessity because probate paperwork and filing procedures can be very comlex.
Another step to follow.
Remember March 23rd, Diabetes Risk Test Day.
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.
Only 30 days left to contemplate getting your Diabetes Risk Test on Tuesday March 23rd, American Diabetes Association test day !
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.
REMINDER……Only 35 days left, until March 23rd. The get your DIABETES RISK TEST day, for your well-being.