What is Probate?
Probate is the legal process overseen by a court through which person’s estate is administered after they pass away. Probate occurs when a will is necessary to settle an estate or when a person dies without a will. It is a process that can take months or even years.
We sympathize with families that have lost a loved one and have to manage an estate. We guide and represent estate beneficiaries, executors and administrators with all aspects related to estate administration, including:
- Last Will & Testament proceedings
- Intestacy proceedings
- Income tax matters
- Real estate sales
- Will contests
If you are an executor or administrator of an estate, you will need to:
- Notify beneficiaries and meet deadlines
- Locate, gather, and value all assets
- Pay bills & debts
- File an inventory and accounting with the court
- File taxes
- Collect debts owed to the estate
- Distribute assets to beneficiaries
Executor and administrator duties can be complicated and, as a fiduciary, executors and administrators have a responsibility to the estate and its beneficiaries, which can potentially expose an executor or administrator to liability for any mistakes. We are available to provide advice for all matters regarding Probate and estate administration or we are able to handle the entire process and act as executor or administrator for an estate.
Trust Administration
When a loved one passes away and they have a trust, the process of administering the trust needs to happen. Trust administration is a private process where the trustee is tasked with administering the trust according to its terms. Similar to an executor or administrator, there are legal requirements that must be satisfied within deadlines.
It is important that you and your trustee or successor trustee discuss what happens during trust administration with your estate planning attorney. Often the successor trustees of trusts are unaware of their responsibilities during trust administration, which can be dangerous, especially if there are multiple beneficiaries. We offer our clients a meeting to discuss all details of the trust and responsibilities so that successor trustees are informed of what to expect during trust administration. A successor trustee has many requirements and deadlines that must be met during trust administration, and it is recommended that you hire an experienced estate planning attorney to assist you.
What are the responsibilities of a successor trustee?
Each estate is different, and the successor trustee responsibilities can vary, but some of the responsibilities that many successor trustees will have include:
- Obtaining a Tax ID for the trust
- Notifying the beneficiaries of the trust within a certain amount of time set forth by statute
- Determining whether an estate tax is due
- Paying final expenses of the decedent
- Filing taxes
- Identifying and notifying financial institutions of the death and that they are acting successor trustee
- Protecting trust assets and investing safely
- Opening a trust bank account and pay ongoing expenses of trust administration
- Distributing trust assets to beneficiaries
Professional & Experienced Help is Available
My Ohio Estates is here to assist you with the trust administration process. The best thing you can do is to meet with an experienced estate planning attorney that offers trust administration services to review the trust and explain your responsibilities as trustee. Call My Ohio Estates to further discuss.