Waxhaw Estate Administration Attorneys

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.

As you can probably tell, ensuring an estate gets distributed properly can be an arduous—and expensive—process. The more assets a decedent possesses, the more complicated distributing their estate becomes.

Appointing a lawyer to handle estate administration for the process makes it easier. An estate administration lawyer can ensure that all of an estate owner's estate planning documents are in order and legally sound. That's particularly useful in cases where the estate owner drafted a will by hand or has an idea of how they want to distribute their estate, but have not yet established a formal trust and will.

When the estate owner passes away or becomes incapacitated, an estate administration lawyer can help the individuals appointed using POA and the executor (depending on whether the estate owner is deceased or incapacitated). During probate, the estate administration lawyer can work with the executor to ensure they inventory the decedent's estate properly, repay creditors, and distribute assets correctly.

In the long run, an estate administration lawyer can help both the estate owner and their loved ones save time and money by streamlining the estate planning and distribution process.

At Blood Law, PLLC, our Waxhaw estate administration attorneys can help you administrate your estate.

To schedule a consultation with our team and learn more about how we can help you with your case, contact us online or via phone at (704) 286-0570.