Estate
Something Turns Up After the Estate Is Closed
A forgotten account, an unclaimed policy, or a refund can surface years later, and there is a procedure for it.
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Estate
A Business in the Estate: Valuation, Control, and Time
A business interest is the estate asset that loses value while you wait, and the one most likely to be undervalued in a hurry.
Estate
Simplified Procedures for Smaller Estates
Most states offer a simplified route for estates below a threshold, which can avoid full probate entirely.
Estate
The Letter That Says What a Will Cannot
A letter of wishes carries the explanation, the reasoning, and the personal instruction that a will has no room for.
Estate
Blended Families: Providing for a Spouse Without Disinheriting Children
Where either partner has children from an earlier relationship, an ordinary will can accidentally disinherit them entirely.
Estate
Leaving Something to a Charity, Effectively
A charitable bequest is straightforward to make and easy to draft in a way that fails, particularly where an organisation later changes.
Estate
Guardianship: The Appointment That Assumed Two Parents
Where minor children are involved, existing guardianship provisions were probably drafted assuming one parent would survive.
Estate
Leaving Money to Someone Who Cannot Manage It
Where a beneficiary has a disability, an addiction, or simply no ability with money, an outright gift can do real harm.
Estate
Where the Originals Live, and Who Can Reach Them
A perfectly drafted will helps nobody if it cannot be found, and a document locked where only the deceased could reach it causes real delay.
Estate
Becoming Trustee: Duties That Are Higher Than You Expect
A surviving spouse is frequently the successor trustee. The role carries legal duties enforceable by beneficiaries, including your own children.
Estate
No Will: The State Has Already Written One
Dying without a will does not mean the estate is undirected. State intestacy rules apply, and they may not match what the family expected.
Estate
Digital Assets: Property, Content, and Things That Are Neither
Photographs, domains, loyalty points, and digital currency sit in different legal categories, and only some of them are estate assets.
Estate
Creditor Notice: The Step That Closes the Door
Most states provide a formal way to notify creditors and to close the window for claims. Skipping it leaves the estate open far longer.
Estate
Instructing an Estate Lawyer: Scope, Fees, and Who They Act For
The lawyer who drafted the will may not be the right lawyer to administer the estate, and may not be acting for you at all.
Estate
The Election That Can Only Be Made Now
A surviving spouse may be able to preserve a deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exclusion, but generally only by filing a return in time.
Estate
Does This Estate Have to File an Estate Tax Return?
Most estates do not owe federal estate tax, but a return may still be worth filing, and in some cases must be.
Estate
Choosing Who Will Do This For You
You now know exactly what the role involves. That makes you unusually well qualified to choose who should hold it in your own estate.
Estate
Closing the Estate: The Step That Ends Your Liability
Distributing the assets is not the end. A formal closing releases the representative, and skipping it leaves an open-ended exposure.
Estate
Being Paid for Estate Work, and Being Reimbursed for It
A personal representative may be entitled to compensation and to reimbursement of expenses, and both depend entirely on the records kept.
Estate
Dividing Possessions Without Dividing the Family
Disputes over an estate are far more often about a ring or a painting than about a portfolio, and the process used matters more than the value.
Estate
Real Property in Another State: A Second Process
A holiday home or investment property in another state can require its own administration, running alongside the main estate.
Estate
Refusing an Inheritance on Purpose: What a Disclaimer Does
Declining an inheritance sounds perverse and is occasionally the right decision, for tax reasons or to redirect assets to the next generation.
Estate
Signals That a Will May Be Challenged, and What to Do Early
Most will contests are predictable. The signals appear in the first weeks, and how the estate is administered in that period matters considerably.
Estate
Transfer on Death: The Quiet Instructions Attached to Accounts
Accounts can carry transfer or payable on death designations that override the will entirely, and families frequently do not know they exist.