Will and Probate
Last will and testament is a will based estate plan holds a detailed list of instructions as to how your property should be shared after you die. If you have minor children, it contains provision for appointing a guardian for your children. An effective last will and testament do not only grant protection for your assets, but also organizes your personal and estate affairs and gives your family financial security after you’re gone.
However, last will just as some other estate documents maybe faced with probate before they can be implemented. When you pass away, your family is faced with the challenge of managing and sharing your assets among themselves. This is a delicate, emotional and trying time, when they will be faced with a lot of decisions to make. Leaving them without a Will–a valid one–will make things even more difficult for them. Probate in itself is the legal process of determining the validity of a will before its contents are carried out. Not all Wills are valid. For instance, a Will valid in one state may be invalid in another state, and this is one cogent reason why you need a Probate Lawyer.
A will may be contested. When one or more parties feel that the deceased was forced into signing the will, or that they are being cheated out of their inheritance, such party may issue out a petition of contest of will. Thus, increasing the probate process.
It is important to note that estate plans are always controlled by the state laws in Putnam County. These laws guides what details should be included in an estate plan documents, and they also direct the formalities in which these documents are implemented. It would therefore be necessary to consult an estate attorney or a probate attorney in Putnam County who knows what the state laws demands on every estate plans as well as the process filing estate documents.
Probate process of a Will
Probate is a process of estate settlement in court. It is a process in which a will is proved in a law court to see if they are valid and true enough to be approved and implemented. The process could however, by a long rigorous battle and it takes a probate attorney in Putnam to guide you through this entire probate process.
Probate follows a legal process where your estate plans or last Will is verified in a probate court, before distribution of your assets and properties according to the will. Depending on some factors — such as the state laws binding your locality.
All the steps involved in probating an estate depend on the probate laws where the decedent lived at the time of death, as well as any other state where the deceased owned properties. Also, the steps required for settling an estate Will differ based on whether the decedent died testate, with an appropriate and valid last Will and testament. If peradventure, the decedent died intestate, without a valid last Will, then, a different approach on probate will be used by the court.
Why You Need a Probate attorney Putnam County
As A Beneficiary
A Probate lawyer can be hired by the beneficiary of a will, to offer advice and guidance in legal matters presented to him/her by the executor of the will. This may happen if the beneficiary and executor are not very familiar with each other. The executor may need to prove that the deceased did not sign the will under duress, most likely in the hands of the purported beneficiary. If you’re the beneficiary, then there is need to hire a Probate attorney Putnam County for legal guidance as the will must have to pass through validation (probate) in a law court.
During Probate, there is room for interested parties to “contest” the will. These parties may feel that they were being sidelined by the deceased, or that they have equal rights to the estate just like you. You may even be accused of putting the deceased under duress when signing the will, in order to have the lion’s share of the estate. You’ll need a Probate Lawyer to protect your interest at the eventuality of such scenarios.
What if the deceased failed to write a will before death? Since there is no Last Will stating who benefits from the estate, there are laws known as “laws of intestacy.” Intestacy laws dictates how the estate will be distributed in the absence of a valid Last Will.
As An Elderly, Preparing for the Inevitable and making estate plans
Probate–as the legal process by which your estate and assets are distributed at the event of your passing away–is a tedious process. Your assets must first be evaluated to see if they’re worth distributing according to the statement of your will, just as much as your debts need to be paid.
When you pass away, your family will be faced with the problem of sharing the assets. Who gets what, and in what proportions? To avoid making rash decisions that would lead to future problems, putting your family through financial and court stress, hurry now and hire the services of a Probate Attorney Putnam County to help you settle your estate and write that will.