If a close loved one passes away and does not have a will, you may want to seek advice from a probate lawyer. A will is an important document used to distribute assets after a person dies, and this distribution can get tricky when there is no will to work with. Here are two reasons you should get legal help for this situation.
To Understand The Probate Process
When a person dies, the probate court is used regardless of whether there is a will or not. Probate court is there to transfer legal rights of assets from one person to another, and they also make sure debts of the deceased are paid.
When a person has a will, this process is a lot easier, because the document will state how to divide things. Without a will, the court is left to make the decisions about the division of assets.
Without a lawyer, you may have no say in how the court handles this, and you may not understand why the court is even involved. The main thing to understand is that no one can claim any assets of your deceased loved one until the court makes this ruling. Hiring a probate lawyer can help you fully understand this process, but this is not the only benefit.
To Ensure The Assets Are Transferred To The Rightful Heirs
Another issue that comes up when there is no will is fighting over who gets what. There may suddenly be relatives popping up stating they are entitled to some of the assets, and it can turn into a huge family fight.
If you hire a probate lawyer to help you settle this person's estate, your lawyer can help fight for the right people. If you are the closest relative to the deceased, you may feel that you are entitled to the entire estate. While this is not up to you to decide, having a lawyer on your side can make this task a little easier.
In addition, you could offer testimony to the court about your opinions. For example, if your loved one was in a fight with a relative for the past 50 years, the court may want to hear about this. In this case, your loved one will probably want to keep this particular relative away from the estate.
Dealing with the loss of a loved one can be difficult, but you will have to settle the estate at some point. To get help with this, you should look for a probate lawyer (such as David R Webb Attorney) in your area.
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