Legal help with estate administration after a loved one’s death

by | Dec 15, 2017 | Estate Administration |

New Yorkers who are tasked with handling the estate administration of a loved one must know what they are dealing with. This is true with trust administration and estate administration. Since the issues surrounding these issues can be so complicated, having legal assistance is a must from the beginning of the process.

Those who are using trusts as part of their estate plan should be aware of how complex they can be. There are many benefits to trusts and these can be used to help a person’s loved ones. Trusts are designed for transferring assets so the grantor of the trust keeps control of it even after death with stipulations in the document.

A trustee will be obligated to adhere to the details of the trust. This can be difficult and requires legal assistance from an attorney who is experienced in how an estate plan works, specifically trust administration. A trust allows the transferring of assets without needing to go through probate. This is used to make it simpler, but there are still factors that must be considered. This will include taxes, asset valuation when calculating capital gains and accounting. The administration of a trust is not a simple matter.

When there is probate, this too will require legal assistance. Unlike a trust, wills require probate. The estate administrator and the executor will need to ensure that certain aspects of the testator’s estate are dealt with. This includes paying the outstanding debts, determining who the heirs are, distributing the assets of the estate and, as with trusts, accounting.

Since most people who are crafting an estate plan will have individual goals in mind from protecting assets to making certain their heirs follow through on certain requirements, it is not an easy process. With probate and trust administration, legal help is vital. From the time the estate plan is created all the way beyond the testator’s death, having a lawyer who is experienced in estate administration is a foundational aspect that should not be ignored.