Probate court has a relatively negative reputation among the general population. People think of probate court as both expensive and a waste of time. There is certainly justification for those sentiments, as many people anxious to receive an inheritance or gain legal...
Learning a loved one has died is a traumatic experience for anyone. The immediate concern is getting their final wishes taken care of. You also have to think about what will happen with their estate. Hopefully, they had an estate plan. Going through the probate...
The probate courts exist in part to prevent people from breaking the law during estate administration and to protect the rights of beneficiaries, testators and those owed money by someone who recently died. Still, Pennsylvania probate proceedings can be inconvenient...
Many people think that they can tackle probate administration without professional help. They believe they understand the estate planning documents their loved one left behind, so they expect that they can move forward with estate administration on their own. However,...
When someone passes away, the person who is in charge of the estate is known as the estate executor. This person is also sometimes called a personal representative or an estate administrator. Regardless of the specific title that you’ve been assigned, if this is your...
As a beneficiary of an estate, you could be wondering how long the probate process will last. However, there is no definite answer to your question. A lot happens before an estate is distributed to the beneficiaries, and hiccups at any step can lengthen the time it...
You’ll find that the statistics make it clear that most American adults don’t have an estate plan. This may seem curious, considering the fact that everyone will eventually need one. As it turns out, there are numerous reasons why people neglect to do their estate...
Many Pennsylvania beneficiaries and executors come to find out that they have one thing in common when a testator dies. In many cases, this is their first time being involved in the probate process. Most of them don't know what to expect. If most people know something...
There are two approaches to probate, proactive and reactive. It is common to procrastinate things that we know we should do, especially when the subject matter is as uncomfortable as death. For this reason, many people procrastinate reviewing their estate plan and can...
The probate process is one that ensures that all of your debts are paid and the legal titles of your assets are passed on to the correct beneficiaries and heirs. Probate is essentially designed to start the estate administration process. If you name an executor in...