PROBATE
Probate is a process in which a will is proved in a law court to see if they are valid and true enough to be approved and implemented. The process could however, by a long rigorous battle and it takes a probate property lawyer to help guide you through this entire probate process.
Probate follows a legal process where your last Will is verified in a probate court, before distribution of your assets and properties according to the will. Depending on some factors — such as the state laws binding your locality — the probate process can be quite complex and demanding.
Probate of Will and Estate Property
When you pass away, your family is faced with the challenge of managing and sharing your assets among themselves. This is a delicate, emotional and trying time, when they will be faced with a lot of decisions to make. Leaving them without a Will–a valid one–will make things even more difficult for them. Probate in itself is the legal process of determining the validity of a will before its contents are carried out. Not all Wills are valid. For instance, a Will valid in one state may be invalid in another state, and this is why you need a probate property lawyer.
Last will are always faced with probate before they can be implemented. A will may be contested. When one or more parties feel that the deceased was forced into signing the will, or that they are being cheated out of their inheritance, such party may issue out a petition of contest of will. Thus, increasing the probate process.
In a case where you pass away without a written will, the Surrogate’s court will pass a judgment of estate administration. Estate administration which is backed by laws of intestacy, is done in a case where there is no valid Last Will of the deceased. The estate will then be distributed among the family and relatives according to these intestate laws, and this will see the estate being distributed against the wishes of the beneficiaries. Intestate Laws vary across different states.
Function of the probate property lawyer
Settlement of Disputes and Conflicts on Will and property
The attorney will settle any disputes that arises between the personal representative and the estate beneficiary or between the beneficiaries of the estate who feel they have been cheated. Unfortunately, in certain situations, when a decedent will is read, tension and dispute may arise between beneficiaries of the estate. A lawyer would be needed to mitigate these situations and preserve family harmony. Also, a probate attorney may be called upon when someone contest the authenticity of the Will and feels it should be deemed invalid.
Since probate cases are settled in court, you would need a probate lawyer. In cases where the estate document or Will is written unclearly and the beneficiaries need the court to interpret them, a probate attorney would be called on to present the case. Similarly, if someone challenges the Will which perhaps may lead ti litigation, the probate attorney would represent the best interest and wishes of the decedent.
Handles finances on behalf of clients
Payment of estate debts, bills and expenses. This is important as each and every asset must be accounted for, and the monetary worth of the estate established. Out of these assets, bills, taxes and debts will have to be paid before the remnant is distributed to every beneficiary. If the value of the estate doesn’t suffice to be shared according to the will, then the beneficiaries wouldn’t get what the decedent intended them to have.
Creation of appropriate estate plans
A probate attorney can help prepare your estate plans according to the state laws in Queens. Estate plan documents such as living trust, power of attorney and advance medical directives would ensure things don’t get to delicate probate matters. With living trust, you can decide who takes over plans of your estate, make financial decisions over your assets both while you are alive or dead as well as when you become mentally incapacitated.
Plan your estate with a probate property lawyer
Staying clear of the troubles of probate can only be achieved with the appropriate and timely estate plan. Your family’s financial and probate needs are unique and can only be established through estate planning documents. Estate planning is a process of making many important decisions and plans over your future and that of your loved ones.
Specifically, estate plans, concerns what happen to your assets both while you are alive and well or dead, how you want to share your assets to family, children or spouse, who takes over making certain important decisions for you in cases of mental incapability and lastly transfer of ownership of a property. These plans can only be presented, documented and implemented in wills and testament, living trust, revocable or irrevocable trust, advance medical directives and lastly financial power of attorney.