When a loved one dies, it’s a very difficult time. It can seem overwhelming to have to deal with legal and estate administration matters.
Yet, if you are the executor of an estate, you must administrate the estate. The fact is that in many legal systems, the title of property and assets must be legally transferred from the deceased to the beneficiaries also called heirs.
In many jurisdictions, as an executor you can probate the estate on your own … without the aid of a lawyer. However, many people, especially when an estate has assets, choose to hire an estate probate lawyer to take over the probating process.
The probate process can be an involved process.
For starters, there can be a lot of paperwork to deal with. Much of the paperwork involves tracking down all the assets, including every account statement as well as dealing with any debts such as credit card debt, loans, etc.
If the deceased owned a business, the probate process can be more complex because there are issues dealing with the business ownership – whether the business was owned as sole proprietorship or via shares as a corporation.
In law, a corporation is a going concern, which means it continues when individual owners die. That said, the shares must be taken into account during an estate probate.
Other complex matters that may need addressing are taxation issues. Before an estate can be probated, taxes due and owing as well as all filings must be completed to the satisfaction of the tax authorities.
It’s true that some estates are much simpler than other estates. Regardless of the complexity, there are steps that must be taken when probating an estate and these steps are made easier by hiring an estate lawyer. Talk to an estate probate lawyer today if you’re dealing with an estate during this difficult time.
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