Probate Takes a Long Time
If the probate law case you’re working on is going swimmingly, that’s something to be proud of. There are countless ways that any such case can metaphorically run aground.
The outlandish circumstances aside, and assuming that the appointed executor survives to complete the case, the following four sections might give you an idea of what may or may not go awry. These are by no means guarantees of what you’ll face, and here’s hoping that you’ll never be required to deal with them.
That said, this list should prep you for a handful of potential errors that could take place. The hopeful news is that you may be able to reverse some of these concerns or negate them from ever occurring in the first place.
Longer Than You Anticipate
If time is of no concern for you, going through probate may be only be a matter of effort. The probate process can take considerable amounts of time to fully finalize.
It may mean trying to clean up any outstanding bills or property the deceased left behind. Assuming that the family can merely take the property and act like nothing else needs to happen is potentially far from the truth. While debt-free situations may you believe as though nothing else needs to happen, there’s still all of the legal paperwork which could need to be completed.
Consider, also, the fact that the probate court system may have other priorities to handle as well. The court might have as much concern for your case as any other case that they previously obtained. Every person who has property which won’t be inherited outside of probate or whoever leaves bills that are due upon death has chance of incurring a probate case. Probate is technically optional for most kinds of assets, but there’s almost always the question as to why something shouldn’t be put through the probate process like everything else that is being probated.
Not Taking the Short Path
Simplified or summarized probate is sometimes an option. Note, however, that every state allows that to be an option, but in those states that do allow for summarized probate, there’s almost no reason not to have the estate summarized. It’s doubtful that you will inherit anything more by having a longer probate case as long as you plan on keeping things exactly as intended. You really mustn’t avoid the inevitable, especially in circumstances where you’re actually trying to follow the will as closely as possible. After all, no one can do much with the property until the court says otherwise.
Yes, it may be your right to contest the will, but that implies that you might be able to come up with the correct will or prove the present will to be false.
Should either aforementioned circumstance arise, it must be due to your honesty rather than your greed that you contest things. Everything may backfire on you if your claims can be proven false. Wills themselves need to be approved by the court in order to be used, and if you try to cause trouble, don’t expect anything to go any better or faster for you. Be wise in which things you debate, and be honest in every action that you take. Contesting a false will to bring the real one into the case is the correct choice.
Nothing After Initiation
Beneficiaries and executors alike should expect that they may need to treat this whole fiasco as if it was some kind of two-way street, and what’s meant in saying that is no matter which side of the case you’re on, you may have to work to do your part. You may have to, for instance, get the executor to finalize their job or work to alert a beneficiary of their inheritance. If you assumed that probate was little more than reading a will, stating that the listed beneficiaries now inherit each a previously portioned section of the estate, and hoping that everyone is pleased with their own little gifts, you may find yourself facing a rude awaking.
If a beneficiary doesn’t show, if a beneficiary passes on, if an executor doesn’t want to do their job, if an executor doesn’t do a good enough job, and/or if anyone assumes that they don’t have to wait until the estate has actually gone through the process to inherit from it, you should ready yourself for labor. It might be that a legal expert gets brought in and the executor is appointed, but after that, nothing comes from those actions.
Assume that it’s now your task to ensure that what needs to get done both starts and reaches its completion. It would be far better for you to presume not enough has been or will be done rather than assuming all is right with the case.
Not Thinking It’s Required
It’s one thing for you to hear an authority on probate matters say that a given asset can skip out on the whole process, but it’s another to avoid probate entirely. The safest assumption to make would be that probate needs to be done. If you feel that probate might not be for you to work on, be prepared for the process to come up later in life. Take for example, when it comes to couples, if their children ever attempt to inherit from an estate, the kids may find that two estates must be dealt with if one of their parents’ probate cases was not completed previously.
Should the entire estate be able to transfer over to a new owner apart from probate, that may raise the question as to what becomes of the deceased’s debts. You may need to know who pays for the mortgage and what’s to be done about the outstanding credit card payments. Probate is by no means a time reserved for arguments over estates. It may be the truth that a perfectly content and happy family may go through Minnesota probate because they actually want to have all of the legal shenanigans put to rest. Pardon the repetition, but you may have to truthfully work in order to inherit anything of substantial value from this ordeal.
Minnesota Probate Lawyers
When you seek a probate attorney’s assistance is your choice. The safest recommendation would be to call them sooner than later, and you can do so at 612-424-0398.
There might have been mistakes made already. There might not be any mistakes whatsoever. In the case that a probate case has been started or has yet to begin, it should be finished at some point in time. That may entail having someone to advise you from Flanders Law Firm LLC as to help ensure that everything that can get resolved will be resolved.
You may be doing fine or you might not be doing so well. Regardless, getting legal help should never be something that you should feel embarrassed over.
Contact the law firm today for your free initial consultation at 612-424-0398.
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Thanks for this information, it’s really helpful! I never knew probates could be so complicated!