Waxhaw Estate Administration Attorneys

In an estate plan, writing a living will, last will and testament, and a living trust is only half the battle. You also need to ensure that someone is there to administrate your estate for you and handle your estate properly if you become incapacitated or pass away.

At Blood Law, PLLC, our Waxhaw estate administration lawyers can help you build a comprehensive estate plan tailored to your unique needs. We know estate planning can be uncomfortable—we're here to provide the empathetic legal counsel you deserve.

Contact us online or via phone at (704) 286-0570 to schedule a consultation with our team and learn more about our estate planning and administration services.

Why Do I Need an Estate Administration Lawyer?

Estate plans are complicated. When an individual (a decedent) passes away or becomes medically incapacitated, their estate plan goes into effect.

At that point, the process of distributing and/or handling the decedent's estate begins. That process typically looks something like this:

• If the estate owner is medically incapacitated but not deceased and they established procedures for Health Care and Financial Power of Attorney (POA) in a living will, the POA will take effect. The individuals the estate owner appointed using POA will take care of the estate and make sure the decedent's health and finances are handled properly as long as they remain incapacitated.
• If the estate owner passes away (becomes a decedent), their estate will probably go into probate. If the decedent has any minor children and appointed a guardian for those children in a living will, the court will decide whether that guardian is fit to care for the children. Afterward, the court will examine the decedent's last will and testament to see if they appointed an executor. If they did, the executor will help the court handle probate. If they did not, the court will appoint an individual close to the decedent (often an heir) to act as an executor for the estate.
• The court follows through on the probate process with the executor, which involves:
  • Having the executor take a complete inventory of all the decedent's property;
  • Ensuring any creditors the decedent owed debts to are repaid, and;
  • Awarding assets from the estate to any beneficiaries specified in the decedent's will to receive them.
• If the decedent had a trust, the trustee must also ensure that the trust doesn't conflict with the will, and award assets to beneficiaries named in the trust.

If you'd like to learn more about estate planning documents, you can visit our wills and trusts pages.