Situations Where You Should Hire a Lawyer During Probate
In most actions that involve the civil courts, a substantial number of litigants represent themselves, or at least take the preliminary steps in the case before realizing that they need to hire a lawyer. In family courts, people file fall divorce, attend mediation, and draft marital settlement agreements without professional legal representation. In the dreaded business to consumer lawsuits, which are not common in New York but which are rampant in states with less robust consumer protections, the consumers who defend themselves against such debt collection lawsuits usually do not have the money to hire lawyers. People who file for bankruptcy usually represent themselves in bankruptcy court, especially if they do not own any exempt assets. Probate, the process of settling a recently deceased person’s financial obligations and distributing the decedent’s assets to his or her heirs, is likewise designed to be manageable for surviving family members of the decedent to represent themselves in court. Despite this, anyone who interacts with the probate court, whether as the personal representative of the estate or anyone else with a connection to the decedent and his or her property has the right to hire a lawyer to represent him or her in probate. For help deciding whether you can handle probate on your own or if you need a lawyer to represent you in the process, contact a Bronx probate attorney.
You Feel Overwhelmed by All the Paperwork and Deadlines
Before the estate can settle, the personal representative must notify creditors, beneficiaries of the decedent’s will, and other interested persons that the estate is open. Then it must settle debts that the decedent still owed and file a final tax return for the decedent. All of these steps have strict deadlines. In more complex cases, the personal representative must sell estate assets to satisfy debts. By the time the process finishes, the heirs are usually upset about how little they will inherit, and they usually blame you. If this sounds overwhelming, hiring a probate lawyer is a good idea.
Your Family Bullied You When the Decedent Was Alive
If there was bad blood between family members when the decedent was alive, probate usually doesn’t make it better. It is wise to hire a probate lawyer if your siblings, stepchildren, or anyone else who connects you to the decedent has a history of bullying you.
The Decedent Was Involved in Legal Disputes at the End of His or Her Life
Probate is more complicated if the decedent left behind a pending legal action, such as a business dispute, or if the decedent was a plaintiff or defendant in a personal injury lawsuit. The estate cannot settle until the other legal case resolves, and you should work with a probate lawyer throughout the entire process.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney
An estate planning lawyer can help you administer the estate of a deceased family member. Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.
Source:
metlife.com/stories/legal/probate-lawyer/