Most of us have probably heard the word probate, and it is a commonality in the legal world. However, many of us don't know what it means. According to elder lawyers and probate attorneys who specialize in this area, it is the procedure by which a will is deemed to be legally valid. The procedure takes place shortly after a person's death, and it looks at all of the assets covered by this document.

Litigation Attorneys Give A More Detailed Look At The Probate Process

In general, the process is not overly complicated. However, as litigation attorneys who specialize in this area will attest, issues often surface that can aggravate the procedure. These attorneys list the following among these issues:

• The executor of a will is responsible for ensuring that its assets are divided in accordance with its provisions. As such, the executor is typically involved in the procedure, which entails fulfillment of legal requirements, filing of legal forms, and meeting of deadlines. If the executor does not utilize probate attorneys or elder lawyers, details often get overlooked, causing delays or complications.

• Oftentimes in a will, certain assets are left out, either deliberately or inadvertently. For instance, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, joint bank accounts, savings bonds, life insurance proceeds, and real estate investments are not usually distributed through this document. If such items are not taken into account and coordinated, a litigation attorney can reveal some unwelcome surprises about what assets are and are not covered.

• When an attorney begins this procedure for a will, the document becomes a matter of public record. Again, this can reveal some unwelcome surprises about what was owned and to whom it was left.

• During this procedure, elder lawyers often deal with unhappy heirs who raise concerns and sometimes even file lawsuits in protest. These protests can delay and complicate the procedure.

Probate Attorneys Give Advice On How To Minimize Or Avoid Complications

Because of the issues discussed above, oftentimes attorneys will try to minimize or avoid the process for a will. A litigation attorney who is adept in this area can implement various options that can accomplish this goal, including the following:

• One is using a living trust, which holds assets for a person while they are living and specifies who gets them upon the person's death. As such, these assets are not distributed through a person's will and not subject to the procedure.

• Another is using accounts such as joint bank accounts and savings bonds mentioned above. As these assets are not distributed through a person's will, they can be managed to pass assets outside of the procedure.

Probate In A Nutshell

The probate process, by which a will is declared legally valid, is a relatively simple concept, yet one that can be complicated by the factors described above. Using a competent litigation attorney with relevant experience, such as probate attorneys or elder lawyers, can make everything flow much more smoothly, or even be avoided, helping ease one of the burdens that follows the death of a loved one.