The legal maze to claim an estate after one passes away can be very complicated. If your loved one left a will you will need to go through the a process called probate at the local surrogate court. In the even your loved one did not leave a will you will need to go through a difficult state process known as Estate Administration.
Probate & Estate administration are part of the legal maze required to obtain the assets of someone who passed away. From the court room, to the collection of assets to the distribution The Law Offices Of Roman Aminov can help you every step of the way. State law will decide how assets are distributed by default when no will is present
Speak to an Estate Planning lawyer in Woodhaven today in the 11421 area for a free phone consultation at 347-766-2685.
Probate is the legal system used for disbursing estates to the heirs at the time of death. The
process of probate will happen if you have left a will or have not made any estate planning.
Again, even if you have a will, you will still need to go through probate. So why is this bad?
Probate is held in probate court. It is a formal proceeding with many requirements. It is
exceedingly difficult to go through the whole process without the help of a good probate
attorney. Due to all the formal requirements, time needed, and inherent delays in the system,
probate can last a long time and can get very expensive. Having to deal with the probate
process for 2 to 3 years is normal and the court fees and lawyer fees are high. Lawyers are
allowed to charge a percentage of the whole estate as their fee regardless of the work they put
in.
Probate is also a public process which means that all the details of your estate is now in the
public record. Details of your family business as well as your family’s personal finances are
included.
All transactions that happen during the probate process needs to be approved within probate
court. Sales of assets and real estate is included. Many realtors are familiar with the challenging
prospectof selling homes during probate. Sales usually take several months and for much lower
than their market value.
All key decisions are final. Probate Judges will determine who gets which assets as well as
when they get it. Custody of children and what happens to all your assets will be decided by
probate judges. It is also close to impossible to challenge a judge’s decision.
Challenging a will during probate is easy and leads to years of delay. Even if you leave behind
detailed instructions, an heir can challenge it simply by filling up a short form in court or by
stating their challenge.
Many families lose their businesses due to the delays and other problems caused in probate
such as difficulty accessing capital and competitors learning about their inner financial workings.
One more thing worth mentioning is that when you have no estate plan at all, your estate is
exposed to death taxes.
The downsides of probate cannot be ignored. On the upside though is that you can avoid
probate by distributing your estate through a revocable living trust. There will be no need to go
to probate court, no need for judges, or lawyers and your estate will be distributed within weeks
rather than years. The distribution will be managed privately and be difficult to challenge. You
can protect yourself from excessive taxing and allow for quick sale or your assets.
People have a tendency to procrastinate when it comes to estate planning. Everybody thinks
they will have time to do this later until it becomes too late. You just have to remember that
anything can happen and that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking care of
this now.
If you live in Woodhaven, NY and need help planning an estate you can call us now for a consultation.
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