In general, probate and estate administration is the process by which assets owned or controlled by a decedent are transferred to the beneficiaries upon death, after paying all debts and taxes. Assets in the decedent’s name alone are usually transferred through the probate court, while other assets such as joint and survivor accounts or real estate, annuities, payable on death property, and the like are transferred directly to the appropriate beneficiaries.
Our attorneys counsel beneficiaries and individual and corporate fiduciaries such as executors, administrators, commissioners, and trustees, in all aspects of estate and trust administration. We represent clients in a variety of probate court proceedings, from helping them to manage the administration of a simple estate to advocating in complex adversarial proceedings between beneficiaries.
Counsel To Executors, Administrators, Commissioners, And Trustees
- Counseling fiduciaries as to the meaning of wills, trusts, and other testamentary documents
- Assisting the client’s court appointment as fiduciary, including circumstances where the appointment is contested
- Assisting fiduciaries in identifying and valuing estate assets
- Advising on the timing and payment of gifts, debts, and taxes
- Assisting in the sale of property
- Fulfilling court reporting requirements
- Drafting required notices and reports to heirs-at-law and beneficiaries
- Preparing and filing tax and informational returns with taxing agencies
- Counseling trustees of testamentary trusts (trusts created in a will)
- Counseling beneficiaries on any planning that might be appropriate for them in light of their current or future interests in a trust of estate
- Representing fiduciaries before the probate court in a variety of proceedings such as actions to modify wills or trusts
- Assisting in the resolution of contested matters
- See also Fiduciary Representation
Representation Of Beneficiaries
- Counseling beneficiaries as to the meaning of wills, trusts, and other testamentary documents
- Representing beneficiaries where there is a dispute about the nature or extent of their interest in an estate, trust, or asset
- Counseling beneficiaries on whether they should accept or disclaim a bequest or other transfer
- Advising beneficiaries when concerns arise regarding the proper discharge of a fiduciary’s obligations
- Representing beneficiaries before the probate court in actions to modify wills or trusts
