Dealing with Probate While Grieving the Death of a Loved One

The loss of a loved one might be one of the most challenging experiences you face in life. Not only is your family navigating the grief, but it is common to be carrying the burden of dealing with the person’s estate through probate. A long list of legal and financial steps needs to be taken to settle the affairs after someone passes away.

Probate can be an intimidating experience, especially if you are trying to navigate the situation without professional support. The best solution is to lean on the services offered by a knowledgeable probate attorney. Our team is here to provide the support you need for avoiding common pitfalls and problems in the probate process.

Tips for Probate

When a person passes away, a probate court oversees how a person’s estate is distributed to beneficiaries. The stress and burden of this process can be minimized if the right legal documents are in place before the individual passes away. Here are a few tips to help in this process:

· Executor Responsibility: An estate plan should have a named executor, who is the person carrying the responsibility of overseeing how the will is managed. Even though this executor is the personal representative, support is available from a lawyer and the probate court. If the person didn’t have a will, then family members should file a petition to be appointed administrator of the estate.

· Tangible Property: Any tangible property owned by the individual needs to be appraised and distributed properly, such as furniture, artwork, dishes, collectibles, etc. It’s important to take an inventory before family members start passing items around.

· Nontangible Property: Other property needs to be assessed as well, including bank account balances, investments, real estate holdings, and more. These values should be summarized so the overall estate can be divided as instructed in the will or estate plan.

· Legal Assistance: Meeting with a probate attorney is an important step to avoid missing essential details. Your attorney can speed up the probate process and simplify the distribution of the estate.

Don’t navigate probate without support from an experienced legal team. Whether you need to prepare an estate plan for yourself, or you are the executor for a loved one’s estate, it’s important to enlist a lawyer for assistance. Call our team at Miles & Hatcher, LLP at (909) 481-4080.