Monday, April 18, 2011

Call The Competent Estate Lawyer

By Adrianna Noton


Contact an estate lawyer who is experienced in creating estate plans such as wills and living trusts and other asset protection instruments. Most men and women do not like discussing end of life issues but such events must be brought up in order to assure the rights of loved ones who will stay behind once the estate holder leaves this world. Most people report that once they have an effective asset protection plan in place that they have peace of mind.

The courts will distribute a decedent's assets if that decedent dies intestate. To die intestate means to die without a written will. A will is a legal instrument which declares an individual's instructions as to who is to receive his assets upon his death. The will is said to speak at the will writer's death in other words the will is in effect upon the death of the asset holder.

The living trust must be properly written and properly funded so when the owner of trust passes away the transfer of assets can be made smoothly and without incident. The owner of the trust is referred to as the trustee. Basically, the owner of the trust is holding assets in trust for the benefit of the person who is named in the trust who will receive named assets at the death of the trustee.

The living trust is an effective asset protection plan because the trust avoids the court process known as probate. All wills must go through the probate process before the assets are transferred to the beneficiaries named in a will. Wills are different from trusts because wills merely declare that the decedent wishes that ownership of his assets are to be given to a certain person upon the asset holder's death.

The will, before it can go into effect, has to be authenticated. The will can be challenged by anyone, in the probate court, who might claim that the will is not authentic. The assets in the will can be attached by creditors to the estate of the deceased in probate court.

The probate process is a public legal proceeding so anyone can lay claim to the assets listed in the will. The probate process can take as little as six months or can take years to complete depending on the complexity of the will and the amount of assets involved. The probate court charges a fee based on a percentage of the assets and lawyer fees will come out of the estate before the assets are finally transferred to the beneficiaries.

A living trust does not have to be authenticated by the court so there are no legal or court fees coming out of the assets. The beneficiary of the decedent's assets does not have to wait for the completion of a court process and receives the decedent's assets immediately. A living trust is a private matter between decedent and beneficiary whereas a will is a public matter and can be challenged in court, can be attached by creditors, or can be printed in the newspaper.

An estate lawyer helps create living trusts for people who want to leave their assets to their loved ones upon their death. People who die without a will or living trust will have their assets distributed by the state. The probate court will distribute a decedent's assets if the decedent had a will and the court will charge the beneficiary of the will court costs and Real Estate Lawyer Brampton fees. The living trust transfers the assets to the beneficiary immediately without court cost, lawyer fees, or publicity.




About the Author:



No comments: