What Outcome Can Someone Expect Upon Completion Of Probate?
Probate is a process, so there is a beginning and then ultimately there will be a conclusion and how long that will take varies. How much effort and time and expense that will be involved in going from the beginning to the end will vary, but basically an individual will have to go through that process and that process means, (a), retaining the attorney, petitioning the court, getting jurisdiction over all the proper parties, locating all the proper parties, serving them with process and if there are proper parties that cannot be located, they have to be located and served, whether it is through publication in a newspaper or some other means.
If they are incarcerated or incapacitated, meaning that they do not have their mental capabilities or they are an heir and they are under eighteen years of age, the court generally will appoint a person known as a guardian ad litem who is a lawyer that has to be appointed by the court to look out for that person’s interest. You have to go through that process if necessary and then, if there are objections and litigation, you have to get through all of that, but if all of that is completed, then the court will issue an order that is known as letters of administration if there is an administration proceeding and there is no will or the court issues what are known as letters testamentary if you do have a will.
These court orders then allows a person to marshal or get the assets that belong to the estate and then gives them the ability to open up an estate banking account and then deposit those funds into an estate bank account and ultimately, pass them on to the heirs. It also gives them the authority to make any transfers of any property, so they would have the ability to sign deeds and have the deeds conveying the property out of the estate to third parties upon a sale or to the beneficiaries of the estate and then ultimately after that is completed, the fiduciary is responsible for accounting for all of the assets that they came across or were in control of and then ultimately conclude the estate by either filing an accounting with the court formally, or by getting the proceeding concluded by getting releases from the beneficiaries of the estate.
If there are any creditor issues, if there are any monies owed to parties that the decedent left behind before they passed away, those issues have to be addressed as well in the estate proceeding because creditors have the ability to make a claim against the estate to be paid for the debts that the decedent left before they passed on and those issues also have to be dealt with in an estate proceeding. There are many things that need to take place before an estate is concluded. It requires great time and effort on the part of the attorney in the proceedings and the petitioner or the executor of the estate. The attorney and the executor have to do a lot of thing to get through to the conclusion of an estate, and ultimately the executor is responsible for the estate and could incur liability to the estate if they violate their obligations to the estate, however, with that obligation and responsibility comes the ability to get commissions based on the value of the estate for the work they did to conclude the estate.
To speak to an NY probate lawyer, call the Law Offices Of Michael Camporeale P.C. today! Our attorneys focus on estate and trust planning and probate, and they can also help with estate administration, estate litigation, Medicaid applications, wills and trusts, living trusts, and special needs planning. We also have experienced elder law lawyers, Medicaid planning lawyers, and probate lawyers who are ready to help you out. If you need to set up a NY health care proxy, we can also help you with that.
For more information on Completion Of Probate, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (718) 475-9639 today. You can also visit out offices located in Staten Island, New York, Brooklyn, Bronx, White Plains, Garden City, Melville, NY.
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