When you pass away your loved ones will be forced to deal with the emotional grief that will inevitably accompany your passing. Given the circumstances they certainly will be in no mood for hassles and red tape. Unfortunately, if you use a last will as your primary vehicle of asset transfer there may be some delays and they can be quite lengthy in some cases.

Probate is the process of estate administration, and it is conducted under the auspices of the probate court. Your will is going to be examined by the court, and if anyone wanted to contest it they would come forward during probate. Clearly, if this takes place a lengthy legal struggle could ensue, and no one is going to receive inheritances until everything has been sorted out and the estate has been closed.

Even in simpler cases where there are no disagreements probate can be time-consuming. Creditors and claimants have an opportunity to seek satisfaction during the probate process, and the executor is going to have to inventory the assets and prepare them for distribution. This can include things like appraisals and liquidation of real and personal property. As you might imagine all this can take a good bit of time.

A more streamlined way of distributing assets would be to create a revocable living trust while you are still alive. And, this is just one of multiple different probate avoidance options that exist.

The best way to arrange for the transfer of your assets is going to vary on a case-by-case basis. To be sure that you are proceeding in the optimal manner, the intelligent course of action is to sit down and discuss your vision for the future with a licensed and experienced Hartford estate planning lawyer.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Many people automatically equate estate planning with the preparation of a last will. This is of course one of your options, but it is not always the best one. This is why you should discuss the matter with an experienced estate planning attorney before proceeding.

If you do ultimately choose to use a last will as your primary vehicle of asset transfer your estate is going to have to pass through the process of probate. So, it is important to prepare your last will with the realities of probate in mind and there are those who do not understand this, thinking that a will is read after the funeral and that’s the end of it. And the websites that you see out there that talk about how easy it is to plan your own estate using their generic fill-in-the-blanks templates fuel this fire.

Probate can be defined as the legal process of estate administration. This process takes place before the probate court in the jurisdiction that is local to the deceased. During this interim the court will determine the validity of the will and supervise the administration of the estate. The administrative tasks are undertaken in a hands-on manner by the executor. Estate administration is going to include things like satisfying final debts and paying final taxes, inventorying assets, having them appraised, liquidating certain assets, and ultimately distributing these assets to the heirs in accordance with the instructions left behind in the will.

As you can imagine all of the above requires a certain degree of business acumen as well as a good bit of time. So when you are selecting an executor you must keep this in mind. In addition, the document itself should be prepared by someone who is familiar with the probate court. This is another one of the many reasons why it is advisable to retain the services of an estate planning attorney when you are preparing for the future.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

A last will is not a document that is just read around the kitchen table after your funeral. The probate court is going to be involved, and this process can be rather complicated in a lot of cases.

People often times pass away with some financial liabilities that have not been paid in full. So, creditors and claimants can step forward during the probate process in an effort to seek satisfaction. There is also the matter of final taxes. And, any challenges to the wishes of the deceased that may exist would be heard by the probate court.

In addition to the above matters the assets that are part of the estate must be inventoried and readied for distribution to the heirs. Depending on the form of these assets and the wishes of the deceased this can be a complex task that requires a certain brand of expertise.

It is the job of the executor of the estate to handle these affairs, but because your executor is probably not going to be familiar with the probate process he or she will need the guidance of a Hartford probate lawyer.

A holistic approach would be to arrange for the attorney who assists you as you are drawing up your will to act as the probate attorney after you pass away. Your lawyer will enter the process with an existing understanding of your wishes, knowledge of the dynamics of your family, and a familiarity with the last will document itself. This will result in an optimal situation that allows for a smooth passage through probate.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Should you choose to utilize a will to elucidate your final wishes the estate will be administered under legal supervision. The probate court of your residence is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the administration of your estate.

The will may seem like an operative instrument, and it is in the legal sense but is after all just a document. Someone is going to have to actualize the instructions that are elucidated in the will and take care of other matters. These would include identifying and retaining a probate lawyer, satisfying creditors, paying final taxes, and inventorying assets in preparation for distribution to your heirs.

All of this is done by the executor of your estate, who is sometimes referred to as a personal representative. You name your choice of executor in your will, and if you don’t the probate court will appoint a personal representative. As you can see the executor has a lot to accomplish, and it is time consuming and requires a good bit of business acumen. So even if you have a friend or family member who is business savvy enough to handle these responsibilities in theory, does he or she have the time?

In addition, if you have never interacted with the probate court you have no idea how the process works. You would have no reason to have existing relationships with appraisers, liquidators, and accountants.

For these reasons many people choose to appoint a professional executor. The trust departments of many banks can and do fill this role, and there are attorneys who are willing to act as executors as well. Whether or not you should seriously consider naming a professional executor largely depends on the size and scope of your estate and whether or not you know anyone who would seem qualified and willing to take on these responsibilities.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you come to the realization that it is time to either create or update your estate plan, you are inevitably going to start doing some research into the subject. When you do you will see the term probate tossed around constantly, and indeed, estate planning is part of the work of a probate lawyer. Probate is the process by which an estate is administered, and probate attorneys make sure that their clients’ estates get through probate efficiently and effectively. But this is only one aspect of probate law.

Probate lawyers also assist people with every aspect of elder law, and this is a relatively new specialty that is growing by leaps and bounds as the “baby boomers” are reaching their golden years. Probate attorneys work with their clients to draw up their wills, and this can include living wills that express their medical preferences as well as standard wills that contain property division terms. Perhaps ironically, probate attorneys also devise estate planning strategies that help people avoid probate, and these would include trusts and joint ownerships.

Many probate lawyers take a holistic approach to elder law and provide financial planning advice that takes every eventuality into account, from Medicaid planning to nursing home law all the way through to inheritance planning. So it is true that probate lawyers actively participate in the machinations of the probate or surrogate court proceedings if the estate goes through probate, but they routinely handle many other attenuate matters as well.

As you enter your twilight years you have a new set of circumstances to consider, and it is important to take a pragmatic approach and prepare yourself for the realities of aging. Probate lawyers help people to do just that, working with their clients to make sure that their wishes are actualized as they enter into the advanced phases of life.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

One of the chief goals of the estate planning process is to minimize time-consuming and resource-draining burdens that will fall to your loved ones and family members after you have passed away. The best way to ensure that your survivors won’t be tied up with costly, time-consuming, and emotionally demanding administrative details in the aftermath of a painful loss is to devise an estate planning strategy that is likely to keep your assets out of probate.

There are many different methods that can be used to increase the chances that your estate will be able to avoid probate, and the ones that are most applicable to your unique situation are best determined by a qualified estate planning attorney or advisor. As a general reference, here are a few of the most commonly used probate-avoidance strategies.

Establish a living trust. Suitable for many types of assets and property, a living trust offers a great deal of flexibility and often allows the transfer of assets to occur without triggering the probate process. What’s more, these arrangements offer a great deal of flexibility and can easily be changed or modified.

Create payable-on-death accounts. Many policies and accounts allow for a ‘payable-on-death’ designation that will transfer the assets to the beneficiary you have named immediately after you have passed away, without being subject to probate.

Hold assets or property in joint tenancy. Suitable for spouses or certain types of business partners, joint tenancy is a simple arrangement that allows ownership of some kinds of assets or property to be transferred to a co-owner upon your demise.

Clearly identify beneficiaries on all assignable accounts. For bank accounts, retirement funds, policies, and other assets that allow one or more beneficiaries to be named, clearly identifying the person or persons to whom you would like the property to transfer is a simple but effective way of minimizing the risk that the assets will wind up in probate.

The best estate planning strategy is one that employs a variety of probate-avoidance strategies tailored to your unique circumstances. Consult with an estate planning attorney to develop a strategy that makes sense for you.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.