(218) 720-2888
YMNLAW provides representation during the trust administration and probate process to clients in Duluth, MN and surrounding locations. Our legal team can make these complicated processes easier after a death by taking care of the legal issues involved as you focus on your family during a time of grief. We protect assets and inheritances while helping to get the trust administration and probate processes completed as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
Executor, heirs or beneficiaries, and other interested parties should contact YMNLAW for assistance as soon as possible after a death. Our Duluth trust administration and probate lawyers can provide personalized advice and create a customized plan for seeing you through the steps involved in transferring assets to new owners after a death. We can also answer questions you have including:
- What is involved in the trust administration or probate process?
- Who needs a lawyer during the trust administration or probate process?
- What can a Duluth trust administration and probate lawyer do for you?
What is Involved in the Trust Administration or Probate Process?
Both the trust administration process and the probate process are formal legal processes with specific steps that must be taken and strict protocols to follow. Many people are not familiar with these processes, which are necessary to officially transfer legal ownership of assets to intended beneficiaries after a death.
In both the trust administration and the probate process, a trusted fiduciary has to oversee the process, take care of managing assets, and work through the formal steps of asset transfer. In the case of trust administration, it is a trustee who is given this responsibility. In the case of the probate process, it is an executor named in the will or an estate administrator appointed by the probate court.
The executor of an estate or the trust administrator must provide appropriate notice of the proceedings to interested parties; must make an accounting of estate or trust assets; and must file required tax forms. Both the executor of an estate and trust administrator also must take steps to formally transfer titles and deeds of property the deceased owned.
Although the processes serve similar purposes, they work differently because the probate process involves going to probate court while the trust administration process can generally be handled outside of a courtroom unless problems arise. Executors and trustees both have a fiduciary duty to handle the process of managing and transferring assets appropriately, and could be held legally accountable for failures.
Who Needs a Lawyer During the Trust Administration and Probate Process?
Because of the tremendous responsibility placed upon trust administrators and executors of an estate, those who are entrusted to fulfill these roles should get legal help as soon as possible. Legal fees can typically be paid out of the estate assets or out of the trust assets, and an attorney can guide those who are responsible for facilitating the transfer of assets in complying with all of their duties. Taxes alone can be complicated, not to mention filing court paperwork and handling all of the other issues that arise. An attorney can take care of all of these steps to make certain they are done right so the wishes of the deceased are respected and the estate assets are protected until they transfer to their new owners.
While the executor of an estate and trust administrator are the ones with the most responsibility during the probate process or during trust administration, heirs or beneficiaries are the ones who have the most to lose if things go wrong. As a result, those who stand to inherit may wish to talk with a trust administration or probate lawyer about representing them. An experienced attorney can monitor the probate process or trust administration process to ensure everything is proceeding as required, and can help those who will inherit to take appropriate legal action if problems arise.
Finally, there are difficult situations where a person believes that the wishes of the deceased are not truly reflected in the last will and testament or the trust because proper protocols were not followed for will or trust creation or because the deceased prepared these legal documents under conditions of fraud or duress. In these circumstances, legal advice should be sought for contesting a will.
What can a Duluth Trust Administration and Probate Lawyer Do For You?
YMNLAW can provide invaluable assistance with the trust administration and probate process. Our experienced legal team is ready to get started today, so give us a call at (218) 720-2888 or contact us online to find out more about how a Duluth probate and trust administration lawyer can help you.
