People often don't know what to do after the death of a loved one. They may feel insurmountable grief and uncertain about what the future will hold. It can be very difficult to handle the aftermath of someone's passing, even if family members knew that their death was...
Many testators put a lot of effort into creating estate plans specifically because they hope to avoid probate court. The average person who expects to inherit from an estate may worry about whether probate court requirements will delay receipt of their inheritance or...
Probate is a legal process that occurs after someone passes away. It involves settling an individual's affairs, including distributing their assets, paying off debts and helping to ensure that the final wishes outlined in their will are carried out. Understanding the...
The reality of probate court is one of those life complications that people tend to ignore until it becomes pressing business. When a loved one dies, people in Pennsylvania suddenly find themselves with a lot of challenging questions that they may not know how to...
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...