What Are the Responsibilities of a Probate Attorney?
Probate attorney, also known as estate or trust attorney, helps the executors of a family's estate in properly handling the probate procedure when there's no last will. The term probate comes from the Latin word proxy which means chance or destiny. Probate also refers to the appointment of a person as an executor upon death or of someone else to succeed the deceased's estate. Usually, when someone dies, his or her estate goes through a series of events where an appointed individual (probate court) makes decisions about this who will inherit the deceased's property and debts. Probate court serves as the central clearing house for all of these officialities.
In order to determine who will inherit the assets, the probate court may conduct a series of hearings and other procedures. A probate attorney represents the interests of their client who is the one named as the executor, and they are responsible to make sure that their client's wishes are followed in terms of making financial decisions, such as selling the remaining assets, according to the wishes of their client. Probate attorneys are also responsible for the handling and disposition of any final assets that have been accumulated during the probate process. They also assist with estate tax planning and in filling out various forms and paperwork required by various state agencies such as Social Security and Medicare.
It's not only the wishes of the executor that must be followed, however; the wishes of the decedent must also be respected during the probate process. A probate lawyer has to work with the client to help them establish what parameters can be used in their Will. It is important to remember that the executor cannot be considered the legal owner of any assets that are being allocated in the Will. If probate lawyer does agree with the wishes of the client and wishes to pass the property or assets to their family, the probate lawyer must inform the court. Failure to notify the court can result in serious consequences for the decedent, including estate tax problems.
If a probate lawyer agrees to accept the will, they can be involved in many aspects of the probate proceedings. This includes assisting the executors in filling out and completing forms, filing proper paperwork and attending all necessary proceedings. Most importantly, the probate attorney has to obtain the proper proof that the decedent's wishes are being followed. Many times the executors cannot make this determination on their own, so having an outside party make this determination can be beneficial to the heirs in terms of maximizing inheritance. Visit Smith Barid to get more knowledge about their services offered.
During the probate process, the estate attorney can also become involved to collect certain debts and assets that are owed to the decedent. This is done through numerous methods, such as working with collection agencies, banks and creditors and obtaining repayment plans from all of them. In some cases, the executors may choose to sell some of the assets to pay down debts. However, if there are no proceeds from selling assets, then the probate attorney can hold on to them until the debt is satisfied. The debt can then be satisfied by using the proceeds from the sale of assets.
It should be noted that most states require that anyone receiving inheritance pay the appropriate inheritance taxes. Therefore, probate lawyers that offer limited representation to their clients may actually be required to help the executor to pay the tax. This makes the provision of limited representation even more important. In short, the provision of limited representation may actually be a requirement if the probate lawyer offers his/her services to the client to avoid being required to appear in probate court. Therefore, any firm that limits its representation to a small number of beneficiaries may actually need to provide this type of representation in order to avoid probate court proceedings.
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