Probate is the court-supervised legal process of settling a person’s estate after their death. This includes the appointment of someone, the executor, to pay all the debts of the estate and transfer the property of the deceased to his or her heirs. It can be a lengthy and expensive process.
Inheritance tax is a widely misunderstood topic, partially because not all states have such a tax. Generally speaking, inheritance tax is a tax liability on an individual’s inheritance. States with an inheritance tax typically exclude surviving spouses from tax liability, and some states exclude other family members.
Estate planning is a process by which individuals plan for the disposition of their assets, and it is a necessary process for every person who wants to control what happens to his or her estate both before and after death. Wills and trusts are often integral parts of this process.
As times change, society changes. But, it often takes the law a minute to catch up. The increase in our reliance on technology, from financial transactions to social media, to storing photos and other memories, presents some legal complications for the law. For instance, what happens to our digital assets after we pass away?
When looking for an estate planning attorney in California, it’s imperative that you ask the correct questions. By asking prospective California estate planning attorneys good questions, you’ll be in a position to make an informed decision regarding your legal representation.
Many people’s conception of wills and how they are administered derives from TV dramas where someone in a musty room reads the will and gasps arise from those who feel left out or cheated. As much as TV dramas are entertaining, they’re not really what happens when a person dies with or without a will.
