Monthly Archives: February 2022
What Is An Estate’s Responsibility For A Decedent’s Business Assets?
A person’s death may not just leave personal assets for their estate to deal with, but also business assets. How the law deals with this latter class of assets depends largely on how the business itself was structured during the deceased owner’s lifetime. In some cases, the personal representative of the probate estate will… Read More »
Why You Need To Pay Attention When Changing The Beneficiaries Of Your Life Insurance Policy
Even if you have a will and a living trust, there may still be some assets that fall outside of these estate planning documents. For example, a life insurance policy is often governed by separate laws with respect to beneficiary designations. This means that even if you change the beneficiaries in your will or… Read More »
How Creditor Claims Can Lead To Years Of Probate Litigation
Although the phrase “probate litigation” is most commonly associated with legal proceedings where someone contests a will or there is a fight among the potential beneficiaries of an estate, another common source of such legal disputes is creditor claims. After all, when a person dies, they often owe other people money. If the probate… Read More »
Can A Deceased Beneficiary Still Inherit Under A Will?
A common question that comes up in probate administration is, “What happens to the share of a beneficiary who dies before the estate is administered?” To give a hypothetical example, say George died on February 1. His will left half of his estate to one of his children, Sarah, but she died in an… Read More »