What else does a Probate Attorney do besides Estate planning?

Share This Post

What else does a Probate Attorney do besides Estate planning?

What is a Probate Attorney?

To get to know what a Probate attorney is, we should first understand what probate means. Probate is the legal process an individual’s will, belongings, and assets go through after his demise.

As the name suggests, Probate attorneys are legal professionals who have specialized in this field. They assist with part of the probate process and are also known as Estate attorneys or Trust lawyers.

A Probate attorney is known as an Estate attorney when they help a client to plan his estate by drafting his wills, trusts, and power of attorneys, assisting the client in family and elder care planning and reducing the inheritance taxes.

What does a Probate Attorney Do?

When an individual passes away, an executor is appointed to handle the distribution of the assets and estate of the person. 

The probate lawyer is, in a way, the legal helper in these cases, and his work will depend on various factors such as How complex the point is, what help the executor needs, whether the deceased had a will or not, whether the estate assets have been identified or not, do the beneficiaries have some legal challenges or not.

The most significant factor in how a probate Attorney will work depends on whether a will was drafted.   

  • If a will was drafted

Suppose a valid signed Will is drafted by the deceased before passing away. In that case, the executor of the will may bring the Probate Attorney as a Guide or consultant to look over the probate process so that the terms of the choice are properly executed. If someone challenges the will, the probate lawyer may represent one of the parties in the litigation.     

  • If a will was not drafted

In case a will was not drafted by the deceased before his passing away, then the inheritance laws of the state or country decide the inheritance of the assets and estate. The probate lawyer and the administrator provided by the court then have to distribute the aid and estate according to the state laws regardless of whatever the deceased said, or the loved ones say or need.

Role and essential functions of Probate lawyer

Some of the roles and functions of the probate lawyer are as follows

  • Find the decedent’s belongings and secure the inventory, personal properties, estate, and other assets such as current bank account, savings vehicles, etc.
  • Identify and collect the decedent’s policies, like his life insurance policy.
  • Manage and maintain the estate and its checkbooks.
  • Get and secure appraisals for the asset of the deceased
  • Secure a tax account and file the final tax returns of the deceased and his estate
  • Determine the debts the deceased had and validate them. Also, advise on payments of debt.
  • Initiating the settlement and disbarment of the asset to the right beneficiaries
  • Prepare all the files and documents the probate court needs for the probate process.

Why does one need a probate lawyer?

A probate lawyer is needed for a smoother probate process. In some cases, the probate lawyer has helped the decease draft the will and estate planning, so they have required the proper distribution of assets to the beneficiaries.

On the other hand, one should hire a probate lawyer if he/she has no idea about the probate process.

  • If the estate can’t be distributed without a probate
  • If family members don’t get along
  • If the money is not sufficient to provide as well as settle debts.

Things one should ask from a probate lawyer

If you ever hire a probate lawyer, you should ask them critical questions.

  • If probate law is his/her specialization
  • His/her experience and how long have they been doing these cases
  • How will they charge you
  • How will they handle the case personally or give it to some intern?

Conclusion

The content tells us the probate process and how a probate attorney works. This article shows how important it is to have a will and how the work of a probate lawyer changes accordingly.

More To Explore

Subscribe to our Newsletter

legal will Long Island lega lwill New York legal will NYC legal will Queens legal will Staten Island living trust Brooklyn living trust Long Island living trust New York living trust NYC living trust Queens living trust Staten Island medicaid trust Brooklyn medicaid trust Long Island medicaid trust New York medicaid trust NYC medicaid trust Queens medicaid trust Staten Island New York estate planning legal New York probate lawyers NYC guardianship lawyer probate attorney Dutches county probate attorney Kings county probate attorney Nassau NY probate attorney Orange county probate attorney Putnam county probate attorney Queens probate attorney Rockland probate attorney Suffolk probate attorney Sullivan county probate attorney Ulster county probate Brooklyn lawyer probate lawyer Kings county probate lawyer Long Island probate lawyer Nassau probate lawyer Queens probate lawyers New York probate lawyers NYC probate lawyer Staten Island probate lawyer Suffolk probate lawyers Ullivan county probate New York attorneys probate New York lawyer probate NYC lawyer probate NYC lawyers probate property attorney probate property lawyer revocable trust Brooklyn revocable trust Long Island lawyers directory NY revocable trust New York revocable trust NYC revocable trust Queens revocable trust trust Bronx will attorney Brooklyn will attorney Long Island will attorney New York will attorney NYC will attorney Queens will attorney Staten Island will lawyer Brooklyn will lawyer Long Island guardianship lawyer Brooklyn guardianship lawyer Long Island guardianship lawyer New York Estate Planning Lawyer NYC guardianship lawyer Queens guardianship lawyer Staten Island near me dental Near Me Lawyers will lawyer New York will lawyer NYC will lawyer Queens will lawyer Staten Island wills and trusts Bronx Wills and trusts Brooklyn wills and trusts Long Island wills and trusts New York wills and trusts NYC wills and trusts Queens wills and trusts Staten Island wills Brooklyn wills Long Island wills New York wills Staten Island estate planning lawyers NYC probate New York lawyers trust and estate law firms estate planning attorneys Brooklyn estate planning lawyers Brooklyn estate planning Brooklyn estate planning New York attorney estate planning New York attorneys estate planning attorney Brooklyn estate planning New York lawyer estate planning New York lawyers guardianship attorney Brooklyn guardianship attorney Long Island guardianship attorney New York guardianship attorney NYC guardianship attorney Queens guardianship attorney Staten Island