What Is Probate?Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is “proved” in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the state of residence of the deceased at time of death in the absence of a legal will.
Essentially, Probate is the legal process in which an estate’s assets are distributed and any remaining debts are paid off. We assist our clients at all stages of probate and estate administration. If you are the executor (a person appointed by a will to act on behalf of the estate), handling a will for someone who has passed away, we can guide you through the process of admitting the will to probate.
If the person dies without a will (intestate), we determine the proper heirs according to the applicable Connecticut laws. We also assist with the rest of the probate process, including identifying and valuing the assets, determining how the assets will be distributed, and filing the necessary Estate Tax Returns. It is also important to note that simply having a will, does not mean that you will avoid probate court.
If the estate is large, there may be federal or Connecticut death taxes due. We will prepare the necessary estate tax forms and calculate the estate taxes owed. The lawyers at Reed Wilson Case understand the intricacies of probate law and are experienced with helping people through the long and confusing process.
Locations including Saybrook, which covers the towns of Old Saybrook, Essex, Chester, Deep River, Clinton, Westbrook, Killingworth, and Haddam; Middletown, which covers Middletown, Durham, and Middlefield; Guilford-Madison, which covers Guilford and Madison, Branford-North Branford, which covers Branford, North Branford and Northford, and East Haven-North Haven, which covers East Haven and North Haven.
Many families mistakenly believe that receiving an inherited property is as simple as listening to a reading of the Will and then that property magically belongs to you and you can do whatever you want with it. Sorry to burst that bubble, but a reading of the will is not a real thing – that’s…
Britney Spears’s legal fight to take back control over her personal and financial affairs has put a spotlight on the issue of guardianship. While full guardianship may be necessary for many individuals who are incapable of managing their own affairs due to dementia or intellectual, developmental or mental health disabilities, the Spears case underlines the…
When someone who owns individually-titled assets with no beneficiary designation passes away, with or without a will, the deceased person’s estate has to go through probate. The fiduciary (called an executor if there is a will, and an administrator if there is not) is in charge of paying off creditors and distributing the inheritance to…
What Is a Living Trust? A living trust is an agreement in which a settlor (the person who creates the trust) appoints a trustee, to manages the assets within the trust, on behalf of the beneficiary or beneficiaries named in it. The beneficiary can be you or anyone else you name. It’s called a “living…
If you are like most people, just the word Probate sounds so menacing that it can make your head spin. What is probate? Do you always go through probate when someone dies? Which assets get probated and which ones don’t? Do I need a probate attorney? How much does it cost? How long will it…
If you’ve never purchased a property, you may not know what I’m talking about. Both Joint Tenancy with right of survivorship and tenants-in-common dictate how a property is owned and who inherits it when one or more of the owners passes away. In Connecticut, tenancy in common is the default interest for a deed with…
What Is a Conservatorship? Conservatorship in Connecticut means that the Court appoints a person or organization to manage the life of another adult. There are Voluntary and Involuntary conservatorships. We will discuss Voluntary Conservatorships in a subsequent article. This article discusses Involuntary Conservatorship. In an Involuntary Conservatorship, the adult being conserved has to be deemed…
Difference Between a Revocable Trust and an Irrevocable Trust There are two types of trusts – As clearly expressed in the title of this article. One is called a Revocable Trust, and the other – an Irrevocable trust. So far so good. To easily tell them apart, there is one major difference between the two.…
Power of Attorney and When Should You Get One Most of you are probably sick of hearing me tell you how important having a power of attorney is for anyone aged 18 and older. A Power of Attorney gives the person or people who you nominate and trust the legal authority to manage your financial…
Clients are often unpleasantly surprised to learn that having a Last Will and Testament does not negate the need for probate. And they are sometimes annoyed when they learn that even though they are named as the Executor in a Will, that alone does not give them authority to access the decedent’s assets. Yet both of these statements are true.
In the past week, we have received calls from two different clients whom we had helped in the past. Each of them called because they were in the process of probating their parent’s estates and both were quite frustrated and wanted our advice regarding the probate attorney they had to use. They each said that…
Will You Owe Taxes On Your Spouse’s Estate? Currently, the estate tax exemption in Connecticut is $7.1 million per person. So although an Estate Tax Return must be filed for every decedent, tax is due from very few estates. And even if the decedent’s assets exceeded $7,100,000, there is an unlimited marital deduction, so if…