Estate Administration & Probate

Many people pass away with debts that still need to be covered because debts don’t go away when a person dies. In most cases, the debts will have to be covered as part of the probate process. This is handled by the estate administrator.  Estates can only pay creditors...

In a general sense, if someone has a fiduciary duty to another, it means they are expected to act in the best interests of the other party. They are not supposed to focus on their own needs or desires but must take steps to uphold the other party’s rights. In the...

Regardless of the relationship among beneficiaries when the testator (the person who drafts a will) is alive, conflicts can arise after death. Siblings who are on good terms may disagree once the will takes effect. Below are three common factors that can contribute to...

Estate executors have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the estate and its beneficiaries. This means handling the estate assets responsibly and according to the decedent’s wishes. However, not all executors discharge their duties by the book. Some red...

Wills are a pivotal part of estate planning. However, so too are the people involved in implementing the written instructions in these documents. The person tasked with implementing a will is referred to as the executor.  The executor is a fiduciary. This means that...

Your parents passed away, and they have named you as the estate administrator or executor. They did leave you a will, which is very helpful. It tells you how to distribute their assets. Some beneficiaries may already know what to expect, so you just follow the...

With student loan debt following Americans increasingly later into their lives, more families are finding that their loved ones still had student loan debt when they passed away. Different types of debt are handled in different ways after a person dies. Some must be...

It’s perfectly normal for people to create more than one will during their lifetimes. After all, the provisions placed in a will when someone is in their 20s or 30s may look drastically different than the provisions that person wants in their wills once they’re in...

Undue influence is a form of manipulation. An elderly person wants to write their estate plan in a certain way. Someone else uses undue influence to get them to change that plan. This is similar to drafting a fraudulent document, but the difference is that the elderly...

A trustee is the person who manages a trust’s property and general finances. That’s a powerful position. As such, they have what is called a “fiduciary duty” to put the interest of the trust and its beneficiary ahead of their own. It’s sometimes difficult for...