Finding The Competent Estate Lawyer

By Adrianna Noton


A proper asset protection plan, created by an estate lawyer, includes a properly created living trust which is a legal instrument created not only to make asset transference easy but also to avoid probate court and legal fees. Most people do not like talking about end of life issues. However, it is important to take steps today for the sake of loved ones who will stay behind even if one has to for a moment deal with issues that will surround his passing from this world.

The courts will distribute a decedent's assets if that decedent dies intestate. To die intestate means to die without a written will. A will is a legal instrument which declares an individual's instructions as to who is to receive his assets upon his death. The will is said to speak at the will writer's death in other words the will is in effect upon the death of the asset holder.

The living trust must be properly written and properly funded so when the owner of trust passes away the transfer of assets can be made smoothly and without incident. The owner of the trust is referred to as the trustee. Basically, the owner of the trust is holding assets in trust for the benefit of the person who is named in the trust who will receive named assets at the death of the trustee.

The living trust is a popular asset protection plan for one major reason which is probate avoidance. Probate is the court process that all wills must go through before a will is determined to be legally binding. A will is different from a trust in that the will is a written document that outlines a person's wishes of who is to receive his assets upon the will writer's death.

Before a will can be legally binding the will's authenticity must be validated. The process where the will is examined is called the probate process and can take months to complete. In some extreme cases the probate process can take one or more years to complete.

The probate process is a public legal proceeding so anyone can lay claim to the assets listed in the will. The probate process can take as little as six months or can take years to complete depending on the complexity of the will and the amount of assets involved. The probate court charges a fee based on a percentage of the assets and lawyer fees will come out of the estate before the assets are finally transferred to the beneficiaries.

A living trust does not have to be authenticated by the court so there are no legal or court fees coming out of the assets. The beneficiary of the decedent's assets does not have to wait for the completion of a court process and receives the decedent's assets immediately. A living trust is a private matter between decedent and beneficiary whereas a will is a public matter and can be challenged in court, can be attached by creditors, or can be printed in the newspaper.

An estate lawyer helps create living trusts for people who want to leave their assets to their loved ones upon their death. People who die without a will or living trust will have their assets distributed by the state. The probate court will distribute a decedent's assets if the decedent had a will and the court will charge the beneficiary of the will court costs and Real Estate Lawyer Brampton fees. The living trust transfers the assets to the beneficiary immediately without court cost, lawyer fees, or publicity.




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