Probate, Estate, and Trust Administration Attorneys
Probate, Estate, and Trust Administration Attorneys
Protecting your loved ones after your death is a personal and often daunting process. That’s why having an experienced estate planning lawyer is crucial. Estate planning attorneys and probate/trust administration lawyers play distinct but vital roles in the legal processes of legacy planning, asset distribution, and wealth preservation.
Estate planning attorneys specialize in designing comprehensive strategies to manage an individual’s financial affairs, property, and personal matters in the event of their death or incapacitation. In contrast, probate and trust administration attorneys are responsible for overseeing the settlement of an estate or trust after the person has passed away. Although there may be some overlap between these distinct legal roles, not all attorneys practice in both areas.
As part of the estate planning process, you will want to work with your attorney on the role they will play during your lifetime and whether they can also assist your loved ones with estate and trust administration when you pass away.
Probate Attorney
After you pass away, a probate and trust administration attorney assists your loved ones with the estate or trust administration process. They guide your loved ones through the legal procedures set in motion by your death.
The probate attorney can work on behalf of the representative (i.e., the executor or personal representative) named in your will, or the person appointed by the court if you die without a will, to settle your financial affairs and carry out your final wishes. Alternatively, the probate attorney can represent your beneficiaries throughout the probate process.
Trust Administration Attorney
Trust administration attorneys guide trustees through the complex process of trust administration. Unlike estates that must go through the public probate court system, trusts allow for the private and expedited distribution of the trust’s accounts and property. However, trustees may still require legal assistance to properly fulfill their fiduciary duties. Trust administration attorneys can also provide valuable services to trust beneficiaries.
Our firm represents clients in Probate and Estate Administration. Probate is the legal process by which a person’s debts are paid and assets are distributed upon her or his death. Lawyers refer to the entity that owns the deceased’s assets until those assets are distributed as an “estate.” Estate Administration includes the probate process as well as non-probate transfers of the deceased’s assets.
The following lawyers in the firm practice in this area. To learn more, please click on a lawyer’s name to see a biographical profile. Attorneys are listed in alphabetical order
