Why it's Important to Have a Probate Attorney

If you thought your life was complicated imagine how complicated your death will be. Of course this will be a different type of complication since you won't be the one dealing with the difficulties of your own death. Your loved ones will be the ones dealing with your passing.
Part of the complications is dealing with your debts and the settlement of your will. Also, trying to adhere to your final wishes plays a role. Usually when you write a will you appoint someone to be responsible for calling your creditors, settling your outstanding debts, and ensure that your property is disposed of according to your will. This person is usually a paid professional known as a probate attorney or a family member who can hire a probate lawyer to handle the estate in their place.

If your estate is large or complicated your attorney can spend years trying to settle your estate properly. For example, this can occur even if your estate isn't complicated and your will is challenged in court. A challenge to your estate can linger in litigation for years and hold up the settlement of your estate in the meantime.

Just look at the late Anna Nicole Smith whose short marriage to J. Howard Marshall ended when he died at the ripe old age of ninety to her twenty seven years. The marriage lasted thirteen months and Smith, who was not left the billionaires vast estate in his will and his son, faced off in court over the challenge to the will. Smith claimed she had been given verbal promises for the estate or at least a big chunk of it. In opposition, the billionaire's son stood behind the will that excluded Smith. The battle over Marshall's estate continued even after Marshall's son and Smith both died and there was no one left to battle it out.

The only people who likely made any money on that fight were the probate attorneys who spent a decade in court, like a bad game of tug of war with no clear winners when the end finally came. The lesson learned from this very public battle is to make sure your will is clear and keep it up to date with any marriages or divorces. In particular, if you're a very old man married to a very young woman with expectations.

For most people though, you don't have to have a billion dollar estate to have a battle over your estate so a probate attorney can help make the process smoother and less painful for any survivors you leave behind.
A probate attorney can do more than just fight court battles though. A probate attorney can also help verify the validity of a will and produce the will of their clients for the probate court.

So even though life is complicated -death doesn't have to be if you do it right and have a good attorney to help you- or at least help your estate.