While it is an honor to be named as a personal representative (formerly an executor) of a will or estate, it can also be a sobering and daunting responsibility. Being a personal representative requires a high level of organization, foresight,…
If you’ve been appointed an executor of a loved one’s estate or a successor trustee, and that person dies, your grief – not to mention your to-do list, including tasks ranging from planning the funeral, coordinating relatives coming in from…
As Ambrose Bierce once darkly observed, “Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” Obviously, ideally, when someone passes away, the paperwork and material concerns associated with the estate are so flawlessly handled (thanks to excellent…
When you pass away, your family may need to visit a probate court in order to claim their inheritance. This can happen if you own property (like a house, car, bank account, investment account, or other asset) in only…
The word “probate” often comes with a starkly negative connotation. Financial planners often recommend trying to keep property out of probate no matter the size of your estate. However, the probate system was ultimately established to protect the property of the…
The bad news: probated estates are subject to a variety of costs from attorneys, executors, appraisers, accountants, courts, and state law. Depending on the probate’s complexity, fees can run into tens of thousands of dollars. The good news: probate costs…
Many people are using a revocable living trust instead of a will or joint ownership as the foundation of their estate plan. When properly prepared, a living trust will avoid the public, costly and time-consuming court processes of conservatorship or…