Can a Handwritten Amendment Alter an Existing Will? If you alter your will with a handwritten note, does that count as a legal alteration of the will? The answer is more complex than a simple “yes” or “no.” Get Help Writing a Will Handwritten Amendments If you have had your will prepared by a lawyer…
Having Belongings Valued After a Death There is more to managing a loved one’s estate than dealing with bank accounts and property. There are also the smaller items around their home that may be valuable, such as jewelry, antique furniture, and collectibles. It can be hard to know where to start with items like this,…
Estate Planning for Digital Assets We live in the digital age, which means that more and more people have valuable or sentimental property that is stored entirely online or on a laptop. Many people do not think about how digital assets factor into estate planning, but keeping these assets in mind when creating your will…
How to Make Estate Administration Easier Leave a Will The first and most important step to making your estate administration easy is to create a will now, with the help of a lawyer. Leaving a will ensures an accurate picture of your wishes. It is important to have a lawyer assist you with your will…
What is Estate Litigation? If, after a person passes away, there are major disputes over how the deceased’s estate should be divided and distributed, a party may pursue litigation to resolve the dispute. This can happen if beneficiaries and/or family members disagree on the legitimacy of the will or the deceased’s wishes. Estate litigation…
Estate planning is the process of planning for what will happen to your property and other assets after you pass away. This includes designating individuals to receive specific assets and to carry out certain responsibilities, such as acting as the executor of your will. Here is a brief summary of the most important things that…
Why Hire a Professional to Handle My Inheritance? When you pass away, your loved ones are going to be going through a difficult time no matter what. You cannot prevent your loved ones from feeling the sadness of your loss, but you can at least make the administrative aspect of your passing easier on them…
Estate administration usually commences along with probate. An estate administrator is a court-appointed person, usually the deceased’s next of kin, who carries out the necessary administrative functions regarding the deceased’s estate in the event that an executor has not been named or the named executor is unable or unwilling to fill the role. …
Making a Codicil You can make minor changes to your will by making a codicil, which is a secondary attachment to the will as opposed to a change to the will itself. A codicil is appropriate for minor updates like a change in last name of a beneficiary who got married, for example. A…
