We often get calls asking about Affidavits of Heirship, and if they are a good alternative when a loved one dies without a Will. Affidavits of Heirship can be a tempting alternative to instigating a probate proceeding because of the substantially lower initial cost,...
Estate Planning
Ownership of Out of State Real Property
We continue to have a lot of new and existing clients whose loved ones have died with real property interests in other state. They are often surprised when we advise them that in order to transfer title to those interests, they will need to file and go through that...
Use of online document preparation services for Wills.
We get a lot of calls and emails from potential clients who state that our fees for legal services are too high, and they will just go online and use one of the popular online document preparation services to prepare their Will at a faction of the cost. It is true...
Transfers Immediately before Death can be Counter-productive
February 3, 2016With the local economy doing as well as it is, I have been having a fair number of clients contact me to discuss transferring their appreciated improved property or businesses to their children to avoid probate and to make it easier on their children...
Focus on Probate versus Non-Probate Assets
September 11, 2015Have you ever gone into a bank or financial institution and opened an account? Remember all of the paperwork you had to sign to open that account? Almost always, that paperwork includes making decisions regarding ownership of the account and...
Ancillary Probate
Over the last few weeks several of our new clients have had questions about the probate process for real property located in other states. I wanted to share with you some basic information about the process to help you understand and plan for the impact of owning out...