- What is important to you (that your family or that me as your advisor) should know about how your funeral arrangements should be conducted? Or, how do you picture the most appropriate final arrangements?
- What are your feelings regarding burial vs. cremation?
- Is it important to you to have a traditional funeral? Should there be a viewing?
- What might need to be purchased to fulfill your final wishes?
- What do you believe these final arrangements will cost, and how do you intend to pay for them?
- Did you know that Medicaid requires the spend-down of all liquid assets (including your cash value life insurance and your CDs), but the state actually encourages you to pay for a funeral with a prepaid funeral plan?
- Would you be interested in setting up a prepaid funeral plan?
Showing posts with label Probate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Probate. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Funeral Arrangements - Things to think about
Saturday, May 22, 2010
How to Request Military Service Records or Prove Military Service
Military personnel records can be used for proving military service, or as a valuable tool in genealogical research. Most veterans and their next-of-kin can obtain free copies of their DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) and other military and medical records several ways.
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Sunday, March 21, 2010
Certified Copies of Death Certificates
Reprint from the Strauss & Associates, P.A. Website Client Newsletter
If you are the legal representative, trustee or executor, it will be necessary for you to secure certified copies of the death certificate in order to wind up the decedent’s affairs. For example, you will need a certified copy of the death certificate in order to gain access to:
The funeral director, with the aid of the medical examiner or physician, will complete the death certificate and submit it to the state's appropriate Vital Records office. If you receive a phone call or other correspondence from someone claiming to work for a government office and needing information from you to complete a death certificate, be wary — it is most likely a scam.
If you did not get a copy or enough copies of the death certificate from the funeral director, you can get certified copies from your state’s Office of Vital Records (a division of the state’s Department of Public Health). While death records are public records, meaning any member of the public can go to the state office and view them, only certain people are allowed to purchase certified copies of the death certificate. These people generally include immediate family members (spouse, parents, adult children) and legal representatives (attorneys, executors, trustees, powers of attorney). In some states, extended family members may be eligible if they had a direct relationship with the decedent.
In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements, you also will have to provide certain information to the Office of Vital Records as part of your request. This information may include the decedent’s full name, date of birth, date of death, city and county of residence at time of death, Social Security number and the decedent’s parent’s names, including the mother’s maiden name. You also may have to provide the name of the funeral director as well as an explanation of your relationship to the decedent. Finally, you will have to provide proof of your identity with a state-issued identification card, such as a driver’s license or passport.
If you are the legal representative, trustee or executor, it will be necessary for you to secure certified copies of the death certificate in order to wind up the decedent’s affairs. For example, you will need a certified copy of the death certificate in order to gain access to:
- Life insurance proceeds
- Bank accounts
- Pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement benefits
- Stocks, bonds, CDs and other investments
- Property titles and deeds
- Vehicle registrations, titles and transfers of ownership
- Home mortgages and other loans
- Other types of insurance (car, house)
The funeral director, with the aid of the medical examiner or physician, will complete the death certificate and submit it to the state's appropriate Vital Records office. If you receive a phone call or other correspondence from someone claiming to work for a government office and needing information from you to complete a death certificate, be wary — it is most likely a scam.
If you did not get a copy or enough copies of the death certificate from the funeral director, you can get certified copies from your state’s Office of Vital Records (a division of the state’s Department of Public Health). While death records are public records, meaning any member of the public can go to the state office and view them, only certain people are allowed to purchase certified copies of the death certificate. These people generally include immediate family members (spouse, parents, adult children) and legal representatives (attorneys, executors, trustees, powers of attorney). In some states, extended family members may be eligible if they had a direct relationship with the decedent.
In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements, you also will have to provide certain information to the Office of Vital Records as part of your request. This information may include the decedent’s full name, date of birth, date of death, city and county of residence at time of death, Social Security number and the decedent’s parent’s names, including the mother’s maiden name. You also may have to provide the name of the funeral director as well as an explanation of your relationship to the decedent. Finally, you will have to provide proof of your identity with a state-issued identification card, such as a driver’s license or passport.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Estate Administration
Reprint of the February 2010 Strauss & Associates, P.A. Website Client Newsletter
Estate administration involves collecting a decedent's assets — particularly personal assets — and using them to pay debts, taxes and costs of administration until all the debts and costs are paid or the assets are exhausted. The remaining assets are distributed in accordance with the decedent's will or, in the absence of a will, by intestate succession, as provided by state law.
In many states, legislatures have adopted some version of the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), which was designed to simplify the estate administration process. Due to the real or perceived complexity of the estate administration (or probate) process, many people have sought legal advice on how to avoid probate. In this, as in any complex legal matter, consulting an attorney with experience in estate administration is essential.
An estate may need to be administered in more than one state. Generally, a decedent's estate is probated or administered in the state where he or she resided at the time of death. However, because state law governs the transfer of real estate it may be necessary to do an ancillary proceeding to probate for any real estate the decedent owned in another state. An ancillary proceeding is a scaled-down probate proceeding, which governs only the assets located in that state.
While probate proceedings can be extremely formal, they can also be relatively informal. An informal probate proceeding usually involves filing some basic paperwork, having the court appoint someone to manage the estate, paying the debts, distributing the assets and having the court approve the distribution. The court may never require a hearing, but only a review of the papers filed.
In other instances — such as when a will is disputed — a formal probate proceeding may be required. A formal proceeding involves more court oversight and usually requires one or more court hearings. In some states, a probate proceeding can be formal in parts and informal in others. For example, the matter may start out formally, with a court hearing to appoint the personal representative, but end informally, with a paper filed with the court detailing how the assets are to be distributed.
It may be possible to avoid the probate process for a decedent who owned few assets. A "small estate administration" is available in many jurisdictions. Usually, in order to qualify for a small estate administration the decedent's assets must not include real estate and must be worth less than a threshold amount determined by the state. If a small estate administration is possible, the parties who are entitled to receive the decedent's assets may collect those assets by way of an affidavit. Even in a small estate proceeding, though, the decedent's creditors need to be paid from the assets.
Generally, the first task in a probate proceeding is appointing a responsible party to manage the estate. This person is usually called the personal representative, but may also be known as the "executor." The personal representative may be an individual or a company, such as a bank. The personal representative may have been nominated by the decedent in the will. In the absence of a will, the court will usually appoint the surviving spouse or another family member. There may be more than one personal representative named.
After being appointed, the personal representative is expected to document all of the decedent's assets. This documentation is often referred to as the inventory. The personal representative must also inform the decedent's creditors that the decedent has died. If the decedent's probate assets are sufficient to pay the creditors, the personal representative will pay them from the estate. If the probate assets are insufficient, the personal representative may need to obtain court approval to determine which creditors should be paid.
Assets left after the creditors have been paid are distributed according to the will. If there is no will, the decedent is said to have died intestate. State laws vary as to how to distribute the assets of an intestate decedent.
The personal representative must also file any necessary tax returns, and may need to bring a lawsuit to collect any money owed to the estate. If the will is contested or there is any other dispute about how to distribute the estate assets, the personal representative may have to "defend" the will in a probate proceeding.
Estate administration involves collecting a decedent's assets — particularly personal assets — and using them to pay debts, taxes and costs of administration until all the debts and costs are paid or the assets are exhausted. The remaining assets are distributed in accordance with the decedent's will or, in the absence of a will, by intestate succession, as provided by state law.
In many states, legislatures have adopted some version of the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), which was designed to simplify the estate administration process. Due to the real or perceived complexity of the estate administration (or probate) process, many people have sought legal advice on how to avoid probate. In this, as in any complex legal matter, consulting an attorney with experience in estate administration is essential.
An estate may need to be administered in more than one state. Generally, a decedent's estate is probated or administered in the state where he or she resided at the time of death. However, because state law governs the transfer of real estate it may be necessary to do an ancillary proceeding to probate for any real estate the decedent owned in another state. An ancillary proceeding is a scaled-down probate proceeding, which governs only the assets located in that state.
While probate proceedings can be extremely formal, they can also be relatively informal. An informal probate proceeding usually involves filing some basic paperwork, having the court appoint someone to manage the estate, paying the debts, distributing the assets and having the court approve the distribution. The court may never require a hearing, but only a review of the papers filed.
In other instances — such as when a will is disputed — a formal probate proceeding may be required. A formal proceeding involves more court oversight and usually requires one or more court hearings. In some states, a probate proceeding can be formal in parts and informal in others. For example, the matter may start out formally, with a court hearing to appoint the personal representative, but end informally, with a paper filed with the court detailing how the assets are to be distributed.
It may be possible to avoid the probate process for a decedent who owned few assets. A "small estate administration" is available in many jurisdictions. Usually, in order to qualify for a small estate administration the decedent's assets must not include real estate and must be worth less than a threshold amount determined by the state. If a small estate administration is possible, the parties who are entitled to receive the decedent's assets may collect those assets by way of an affidavit. Even in a small estate proceeding, though, the decedent's creditors need to be paid from the assets.
Generally, the first task in a probate proceeding is appointing a responsible party to manage the estate. This person is usually called the personal representative, but may also be known as the "executor." The personal representative may be an individual or a company, such as a bank. The personal representative may have been nominated by the decedent in the will. In the absence of a will, the court will usually appoint the surviving spouse or another family member. There may be more than one personal representative named.
After being appointed, the personal representative is expected to document all of the decedent's assets. This documentation is often referred to as the inventory. The personal representative must also inform the decedent's creditors that the decedent has died. If the decedent's probate assets are sufficient to pay the creditors, the personal representative will pay them from the estate. If the probate assets are insufficient, the personal representative may need to obtain court approval to determine which creditors should be paid.
Assets left after the creditors have been paid are distributed according to the will. If there is no will, the decedent is said to have died intestate. State laws vary as to how to distribute the assets of an intestate decedent.
The personal representative must also file any necessary tax returns, and may need to bring a lawsuit to collect any money owed to the estate. If the will is contested or there is any other dispute about how to distribute the estate assets, the personal representative may have to "defend" the will in a probate proceeding.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
What is Probate, anyway?
In a nutshell, the probate process is a court proceeding that establishes the validity of a will and provides oversight to ensure accuracy in accounting for a decedent’s assets, fairness in the treatment of heirs, and protection for the rights of the decedent’s creditors. The process begins with the presentation of the will and can take six to twelve months or more. The time depends on the complexity of the estate and whether there are any challenges to the will. If the assets are simple with no tax or other complexities with an executor who is a state resident a lawyer may not be needed. Many people find the process mystifying and time-consuming and do require attorney involvement
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