Updated 7/21/23
You can’t take your assets with you after you pass. You must leave them for your loved ones to enjoy. Moreover, you need someone to administrate your paperwork and distribute your assets if something does happen to you. A probate lawyer is a professional in charge of distributing and controlling your assets so they don’t fall into the wrong hands. 
A professional probate lawyer does more than collect assets and keep them until it’s time to distribute them. As you might understand, probate is expensive lengthy and public, which means it needs a professional to handle these tense situations and keep calm and total control. A probate and trust administration will control your asset inventory according to your specifications. Your will can influence the decision of a probate lawyer or an uncontested probate case. Moreover, you must be specific when writing your will and stating your demands, as they will be the instructions for your probate lawyer.
Estate planning and probate lawyers go hand in hand, and they’ll administrate and distribute according to your demands or will. Rest easy knowing your assets are where they belong with the help of a professional estate lawyer.
Death is inevitable, and one needs to prepare for what happens after it. The best way to prepare is to visit a probate lawyers office. Probate lawyers help their clients draw up wills to share their estate after death. Usually, many of their clients appoint them estate administrators.
The accounting and execution of a person’s estate after death is the role of a probate lawyer. They make the process easy to handle and understand for the bereaved. When writing a will before death, a probate lawyer gives advice and can help you find an executor of the will. A probate lawyer also certifies a person’s will and can get or help issue power of attorney to a designated party.
Probate law varies in different jurisdictions. One must understand how the law operates in their jurisdiction. Where they are not the will executor, they assist the executor in identifying property to be disbursed. They also help to identify and contact a will beneficiary and their allocation.
Depending on your location, the probate process may be prolonged and stressful. It happens when the deceased does not have a will. Probate lawyers help families go through the process peacefully. If you decide to transfer your property to a trust, you will not require the services of a probate lawyer.
The purpose of probate is to verify the validity of a will. It involves dividing up an estate when someone dies.
A person who makes a will is called a testator. Once the will’s validity is established, the estate is divided following the dead person’s wishes. Intestate refers to a situation when a deceased individual leaves no will. In that case, the rules of intestate succession in their respective state would govern the distribution of their estate. Irrespective of a will, a probate process follows to settle and distribute a dead person’s estate.
When probate is granted, the best probate lawyers start a probate court process under administration probate law. In addition, an estate’s administration and distribution are a personal representative’s responsibilities. However, personal representatives must take an oath stating their commitment to follow the rules while dividing the estate. Representatives nominated by a will are called executors and given authority by “Letters Testamentary.”
Additionally, interested parties have to receive a notification. While specifics may vary by jurisdiction, a notice allows anybody to claim the estate. Possible creditors may need to be notified via a newspaper publication. If there is no will, any potential heirs may need separate notification.
Updated 6/8/22.
To help families plan for the unexpected and the inevitable, probate lawyers can draw up a will, advice on issues such as power of attorney, and may even step in as an estate administrators.
This is the type of lawyer to go for when you want to put down your will. They act as great consultants who will help you determine how do you find out the executor of an estate.
These attorneys will break down how to administer an estate for their clients who are, most often than not, unable to grasp the legal world with all its jargon. It will be an expensive undertaking, but having a good lawyer on your side eases the process.
Where no will is present, and the question of whether you can get probate without a will comes up, the lawyer will be able to sort out matters of the estate through an administrator and get the bereaved family their justice.
To put things in perspective, attorneys will give families directives for documents required to be included in what goes to probate court. Doing so will minimize irrelevancies and promote a quick turnaround in court settlements.
Unfortunately, no matter how much wealth you acquire, you can’t take it with you when you die. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have control over how it’s to be used and distributed in your absence. Most people know that a lawyer can help you draft a will, but what kind of lawyer handles wills and estates? A probate lawyer can step in to help your surviving loved ones settle your debts and share your assets after you die. They can perform this duty in the presence or absence of a last will and testament.
Generally speaking, a probate lawyer works hand in hand with the executors of the estate. If there is no will, they will work with an administrator to ensure that the probate process is properly managed. They can also help as an estate planning lawyer. This is the best way a probate lawyer can help families plan for the unexpected. They can assist individuals in drafting wills or creating living trusts.
They can also give advice on matters concerning power of attorney. IN some instances, a probate lawyer can even act as an executor or administrator. Overall, the job they will do depends on whether the deceased had a will or not. To find a probate lawyer near your location, all you need to do is search attorneys probate near me. From there, you can ask an estate lawyer free advice on how they can help you sort out your estate and prepare for the unexpected.
Many of us like to think that death is something that will happen later. It’s not pleasant to think of, so we tend not to. Unfortunately, life is not guaranteed, but death is, and although it isn’t a fun topic, it’s important for all of us — especially if we have young families — to think of what will happen when we’re not around anymore. Who will take care of the ones depending on you?
That is why professionals with the appropriate experience and knowledge are necessary. You should contact an estate planning lawyer even if you’re healthy and don’t expect to pass away any time soon. They can answer important questions such as, ‘are wills filed with the county or are wills filed with the court?’ If you need an answer to, ‘are wills filed with the state before death?’, you’ll need someone with expertise in the field.
There are many matters to deal with after death that most people never even realize until they have to deal with them. For example, the assets of a deceased person or persons must be handled appropriately to prevent family fights and legal transgressions.
She still remembers the pain.
Her youngest daughter was only a few months old when she found out she had shingles. The pain, located near her right shoulder blade was unbearable. She explained it as someone sticking a knife in that shoulder and constantly twisting it. It was a little tricky getting relief from the pain because at the time she was a mother nursing a very young child. In the end, however, the doctor prescribed some pretty heavy duty pain killers and she fed her daughter a mix of formula and stored breast mild for several days.
Looking back, the shingles were likely the result of unusual stress. Although many people who have stress never get shingles, this young mother’s immune system seemed to negatively react to the stress of her step dad’s unexpected death and the events that followed.
Although the step father did not have a lot of money, possessions, or property, his children and his new wife’s children found a way to make everything a battle. The young mother should have never been involved, but as things turned out the step dad died in the hospital in the town where the young mother and her family lived. Being so close in proximity, the young mother was one of the first to meet the ambulance, and her step father, at the hospital.
It was a hospital visit she wishes she would not have made. As the news from the doctors progressed from bad to worse, it quickly became evident that the two sets of children were going to battle over a car, a mostly paid for house, and a couple of savings and retirement accounts.
Turns out families with fewer resources can be the families who squabble and argue the most over ownership and inheritance.
Who Needs a Probate Lawyer?
Probate lawyers help families find closure. When someone dies there are often many details to be taken care of in dealing with the estate. And while many think that you need to be rich to need a probate lawyer this is simply not the case. The end of life process goes better for everyone, even those with a limited amount of resources, when will and probate attorneys are involved.
When a loved one dies the family should focus on caring for each other and working through the stages of grief. Unfortunately, the implications of a death can be messy and family emotions run high. Instead of mourning a loss, family members and friends can get caught up in the messiness of death. Who gets what? How will assets be divided?br>
People who care for their loved ones will take the time to meet with a probate lawyer and create a will and power of attorney. Unfortunately, 41% of America’s Baby Boomers do not have a will and without a will the finances and possessions can be inaccessible while courts struggle to figure out what needs to be done. With probate lawyers, however, the deceased’s wishes and wants are recorded and known.
And while close to half of the Baby Boomer generation does not have a will, the statistics get even more frightening for the younger generation. In fact, 71% of adults under the age of 34 do not have a will. This statistic provided by the online legal service Rocket Lawyer, is especially concerning to people who understand the purpose of a probate and trust attorney. Without a will or other legal documents, an unexpected death or life altering injury can result in confusion for family members and friends.
What Are You Waiting For?
The bottom line is everyone benefits from the time it takes to create a will, a power of attorney, and other important documents. While one couple may finally decide to create a will when they go out of the country on a Mediterranean cruise, another family may think nothing of leaving the country without their children with no proper legal directions in place. And while accidental death and injury can happen in the country as well as abroad, the need for written documentation of a person’s wishes is important.
The decision to meet with a probate attorney is a decision to make family concerns a priority and protect family members.
