Propp Lapidus

While nobody wants to think about death or disability, establishing an estate plan is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones. Proper estate planning not only puts you in charge of your finances, it can also spare your loved ones of the expense, delay and frustration associated with managing your affairs when you pass away or become disabled.

When a loved one passes away, his or her estate often goes through a court-managed process called probate or estate administration where the assets of the deceased are managed and distributed. If your loved-one owned his or her assets through a well drafted and properly funded living trust, it is likely that no court-managed administration is necessary, though the successor trustee needs to administer the distribution of the deceased's assets.

It is not uncommon for individuals or businesses to find themselves involved in a legal dispute with another party. Disputes of this nature, such as a breach of contract, typically fall under what is known as civil litigation which entails the use of courts or arbitrators for adjudication. For plaintiffs involved in a civil litigation matter, the objective is to right a wrong, honor an agreement, or to obtain compensation for an injury.

When someone passes away, his or her property must somehow pass to another person. In the United States, any competent adult has the right to choose the manner in which his or her assets are distributed after his or her passing.

Sadly, many individuals don't engage in formal estate planning because they don't think that they have "a lot of assets" or mistakenly believe that their assets will be automatically shared among their children upon their passing.If you don't make proper legal arrangements for the management of your assets and affairs after your passing, the state's intestacy laws will take over upon your death or incapacity.

If I transfer title to real property to my Living Trust can the bank accelerate my mortgage? When a loved one passes away, his or her estate often goes through a court-managed process called probate or estate administration where the assets of the deceased are managed and distributed.

If your loved one owned his or her assets through a properly drafted and funded Living Trust, it is likely that no court-managed administration is necessary, though the successor trustee needs to administer the distribution of the deceased.The length of time needed to complete probate of an estate depends on the size and complexity of the estate as well as the rules and schedule of the local probate court.