A will is a very significant document as far as estate planning is concerned. This legal document holds information about your assets, beneficiaries, estate executor etc. Simply put, your will speaks of your wish concerning your estate or assets.
In your will, you are to state who you wish to inherit a certain portion of your assets. Sometimes, people state how they wish to be buried in their will. A will also holds the name of your estate executor. An estate executor is an individual who will act on your behalf after your demise. This individual will have lots of obligations on his or her shoulder, so ensure that you make the right choice when choosing your estate executor.
Before the estate executor resumes his duties, which involves managing the estate while the probate process is on, settling all unpaid debts and due taxes, etc., he or she will need to get an approval from the probate court. If for some reasons you failed to choose an estate executor, the probate court will do that for you. The probate court will select a close relative or the individual who inherits the largest portion of your estate as your estate administrator.
Probate Process
Without probate, your assets will remain dormant. No one will inherit anything from your estate until it passes through the probate process. The probate process is not a walk in the park, neither is it a process that takes a few days. Probate can be quite stressful, and expensive; this process can also take years deepening on the circumstance surrounding the deceased’s estate. For instance, if the deceased has properties scattered across the continent, the probate process may take longer than usual.
After your demise, your will undergoes probate. Probate is done for several reasons. One of the main purposes of probate is to determine the validity of a will. We live in a world where anything can happen. A greedy family member may force an estate owner to write his or her will under duress so that such individual inherits a large portion of the estate in question. It is the duty of the probate court to uncover such despicable act.
To ascertain the validity of the deceased’s will, witnesses are called upon to testify.
Probate New York
The probate process is a little different in the City of New York. In New York, probate will only take place on your will if they are worth $30,000 or more than. Before such a will becomes effective legally, it must be probated by a court (surrogate) situated in the country where the individual kicked the bucket.
In New York, for a will to be valid, it must be signed in the presence of a minimum of two witnesses and each of these witnesses must sign in the presence of each other. Also, a valid will has to be well written, it should also contain (accurately) the wishes of the estate owner.
Estate planning is very important. There are people out there who don’t know how significant estate planning is. Dying without an estate plan can be one of the biggest mistakes you will ever make because you won’t have a say regarding how your assets will be managed or distributed, neither will your loved ones. Your property will be shared according to the intestate law of New York.
Probate Attorney
Estate planning is not easy. First, you need to be very conversant with the estate laws of New York. You also need to have a little experience to create a topnotch estate plan. A competent probate attorney can help in the creation of an estate plan that conforms to the law of New York, and one that also conforms to your wish. Why stress yourself when you can simply contact a probate attorney?
A probate lawyer can also help an estate executor during the probate process. As you know, the probate process can be quite stressful l. A probate who is very conversant with the probate process can offer his or her help and advice to an estate executor so as to make his or her job less stressful. If you need a probate attorney, you can contact us.