Probate
Are you in probate?
If an individual has an estate over $166,250, and no Trust or estate plan was in place, your estate may be subject to probate. Attorney fees are higher because they are statutory and depend on the size of your estate. Further, the process is longer and subjects your estate to contests from unknown heirs.
Once your Trust is established, you must fund it. Not funding your Trust may subject your estate to probate proceedings and other issues. Our office handles Heggstad petitions, which request that a judge transfer your assets into your Trust. We will be hard pressed to prove intent, but we have had these granted successfully. We will advise
Another method of bypassing probate, a surviving spouse will prove in court that the property passes to him/her by various methods. A judge will sign an order passing title to the surviving spouse so long as certain formalities are met that justify such transfer of title.
Small Estates with a value of less than $166,250 can bypass probate. Contact our office for more information on these proceedings.