At the beginning of the probate process of the estate of a person, an executor is urged to hire a probate lawyer. They will help them understand the rules and regulations of taking over the estate, according to the state’s laws. It doesn’t matter if you are an executor or an heir to an estate in its probate process. Hiring a probate lawyer and understanding their role is a step we deeply encourage you to take. Even if you don’t understand the probate process, you can leave it to your probate lawyer. If you’re the heir to someone’s estate, don’t worry about getting off on the wrong foot with the lawyer or the executor. You’ll often be left wondering if the lawyer is on your side or the executors.
To get rid of this confusion, you’ll have to understand the laws put in place of the state you’re in. This will make the probate process of the estate easier to go through. Florida and Texas have laws put in place that makes it so that the estate attorney is generally the attorney for the executor and not the heirs. Despite these laws, an executor does have some common duties that they owe to the heirs of the estate, such as:
- Transparency: Communication is key, an executor has to inform the heir about everything that’s going on with the estate. This can be the estate’s identification and inventory to every document required in court. The executor needs to be on the same page with the beneficiaries at all times.
- Accounting: Not many people know this, but many executors need to provide the accounting statistics of one’s estate. This can go from the net worth to the debt owed by the individual in question.
- Equality: Since some estate funds are divided without considering all the beneficiaries. This lack of communication can be a big issue and only make matters worse for everyone involved.
How probating a will works
Many states all over the United States have a very simplified probate process. They can be made much easier by hiring a probate attorney. It doesn’t really matter whether your loved one left a will or not. The affairs involving the estate of the deceased will be wrapped up quickly with barely any court involvement.
The probate process of a will usually goes like this: After the death of someone. Their will is looked at by a probate court, and the executor named in the will, will need to handle the case in a probate court. It’ll be up to the executor to prove the validity of the will and show the court what the beneficiaries will be getting, this can be property, debts, and any personal belongings. Only after that will the relatives of the deceased be notified of the death.
It’ll be up to the executor to find secure ways to manage the assets one has left behind during the probate process. Managing assets can take a couple of months, even years sometimes. Hiring a good probate attorney to be your will’s executor is insisted upon by us, so your loved ones can have some relief even after your death. If you leave the world with a lot of debt, it’ll be up to your executor to sort this debt out. A probate attorney will be handling your financial assets carefully and doing what needs to be done.
What if someone dies without a will?
When someone dies without having a will made in their lifetime, their death will be called an intestate death. This is something that takes ages to resolve as there is no proper way to go about someone’s personal assets. The same term is saved for a person’s estate. The intestate estate can burden the loved ones of the deceased by causing more uncertainty in their life. This is where probate lawyers excel. They’ll know exactly what should be done and will be more than happy to oblige with their client’s requests while keeping the process legally safe.
Planning the distribution of your estate
Not knowing what the future holds for us is the uncertainty we all have to bear. Facing this uncertainty without a plan is something that is in our control, yet most choose to ignore it. If you have a plan in place that will take place after your death, you can go about your life with less worry on your mind. This will allow you to have peace of mind knowing that your loved ones will be looked after even if you pass away suddenly. This is why hiring a probate attorney is insisted upon by us, so there can be a plan in place for your estate after you die. Life is too short to not consider the uncertainty that comes with it. Make a plan for your estate now, and have your loved ones reap the benefits after you pass away.
It doesn’t matter if you have other problems that you need to deal with, your estate shouldn’t be left to chance. A probate attorney can also help you out in understanding the probate process of your loved one’s will, after their death. Initiating this process with a probate lawyer on your side will only make it quicker and easier for you.
What messes with this process is definitely something not many people know if they haven’t gone through it before, the workplace. If the financial assets of your loved one were being handled by the corporation they used to work for and are constantly being interfered with, you can hire an Employment Attorneys and get the process over with sooner than you think.
What kind of probate attorney should one get?
If you’re planning on fighting the legal battle regarding the estate and are unhappy with the will, you can challenge it with the help of a litigator. Probate attorneys on the other hand smoothen over the probate process on your behalf. This way, everything your loved one has left behind can be distributed equally, fairly, and most importantly while respecting the deceased’s wishes. A probate attorney excels in cases like these. A public defender on the other hand won’t have any idea where to start in the probate process of one’s estate. A probate attorney also has extensive knowledge on matters concerning the estate.
