You inherited a property, home from a deceased loved one and you want to verify the validity of the will to avoid any legal problems in the future. The legal or judicial process of proving a will in court and accepted as a valid public document. With that said, we can say that every person is protected from possible fraud and possible legal problems when it comes to inheritance – and we have rights guaranteed by the law.
FindLaw explains the inheritance law and our rights to claim. This is a very important factor together with the probate process. Read the article below to learn more.
Inheritance law governs the rights of a decedent’s survivors to inherit property. Depending on the type of inheritance law your state has, a surviving spouse may be able to claim an inheritance despite what you may have written into your will. This statutory right of a surviving spouse hinges on whether a state follows the community property or common law approach to spousal inheritance. Children, and sometimes grandchildren, also have a right to claim an inheritance when a parent or grandparent dies.
Inheritance Rights of a Surviving Spouse
Whether a state follows community property laws or common law determines how inheritance law affects the distribution of a married decedent’s estate. The following are community property states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Alaska (although in Alaska, there must be a written agreement between the spouses). The remaining states follow common law.
Inheritance Law in Community Property States
Community property is generally property acquired by either spouse during the marriage. This includes income received from work, property bought during the marriage with income from employment, and separate property that a spouse gives to the community. A spouse retains a separate interest in property acquired through the following methods:
Inheritance or a gift
Acquisition of the property prior to the marriage
An agreement between the spouses to keep the property separate from the marriage community
In a community property state, each spouse owns a one-half interest of the marital property. Spouses have the right to dispose of their share of the community property in whatever way desired. A deceased spouse, for instance, can elect to give his or her half of the community property to someone other than the surviving spouse. Spouses cannot give away the other spouse’s share of the community property, however. A provision in a prenuptial agreement may also change a spouse’s right to distribute the property.
A spouse has the sole right to dispose of their separate property. A deceased spouse can distribute both their separate property and their share of the community property in a will. See full post here…
As mentioned, each person has a right to inheritance, especially over a deceased person’s house whether a will is present or not. If a will is present, then the beneficiaries will have to undergo the probate process to verify the validity of the last will and testament.
Everyone needs to know very well what is a probate process so that they would know what they are doing while in there. For non-lawyer however, understanding it in details would be very difficult. Growth Business explained the probate process in simpler terms every non-lawyers will understand.
The Probate Process Explained in Simpler Terms
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After the death of a grantor of an estate plan and a last will and testament, the next step is called the probate. We explain the process.
After the death of a grantor of an estate plan and a last will and testament, the next step is called the probate. Probate is the legal process of proving that the will is authentic and accepted as the true last will and testament of the deceased grantor. The judiciary court is involved in the process of probate–granting its legality to start processing and transferring the assets.
With or without a will, any individual who has valuable properties, assets, securities, or a business must have a firm he or she consults with regarding asset protection and estate planning. This is to ensure that his or her assets, which was worked so hard for, is protected and would rightfully, belong to his or her heir or beneficiary when the time comes. An estate plan is recommended even for small business owners, as estate plans prevent family disputes and credit sharks.
However, the transferring of assets to the rightful beneficiaries does not happen overnight. There are steps needed to be taken before action is put into the estate plan. The first step is a probate.
The four basic steps to probate are detailed below.
Filing a petition
After the grantor’s death, the firm who handles his estate account will help with the process of probate up to the successful transfer of assets. The first thing your legal advisor would need you to do is to file a petition with the probate court to appoint the executor of the will. The petition will be extended to all of the parties involved–all heirs and beneficiaries, all of whom have the right to object to the petition. It is also required that the petition is published in a local newspaper to notify possible unknown creditors of the grantor. Click here to read the rest of this post…
That is, the beneficiary of the property left by the deceased person must undergo the legal process of verification of the will, proving that it is authentic and accepted as the true last will. However, the beneficiary must also know that the entire probate process is time-consuming and the recovery of an asset does not happen overnight that at some point, the cost is more than the total value of the property. In this case, you may just skip the entire probation process at all.
HuffPost has enumerated the pros and cons of the probate process for people to decided whether it is worth it to undergo the process of verifying the will, or just skip it.
The word probate, while still very frequently used by lawyers, may confuse people who do not have a legal background. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that the word probate is an old-fashioned term that can refer either to a legal process or to a particular kind of court order.
If you consult a lawyer or financial advisor for assistance with respect to an estate plan, you are likely to encounter the terms “probate” and “probate fees,” as well as a description of strategies to avoid “probate.” The word probate, while still very frequently used by lawyers, may confuse people who do not have a legal background. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that the word probate is an old-fashioned term that can refer either to a legal process or to a particular kind of court order.
Adding to the confusion in Ontario is that courts no longer use the word probate officially. Instead, the court uses “Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee” and “Estate Administration Tax” to describe a grant of probate and the related fees. It is important to understand what the term probate means, as well as its associated benefits and disadvantages, before deciding whether to avoid or to proceed with this court process.
The probate process in Ontario involves an application to the court. In accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure, a probate application is filed with the Superior Court of Justice in the jurisdiction in which the deceased permanently resided prior to his or her death. As part of the application, the estate trustee swears an affidavit to the truth and verification of the estate assets. The estate trustee may be audited for the amount of the estate value reported within the probate application and the Estate Information Return, which must be filed within 90 days after the issuance of probate, and may be required to account for any miscalculation or estate assets excluded from the valuation. Learn more here…
As mentioned, the probate process has its own pros and cons, you may or may not opt for a probate process when you’re confident with the will you inherited. Especially when the cost is almost equal to the property’s value. If you’re fine with the cost and have the time to process, then go with the probate process.
Probate or no probate, still the best way to settle inheritance is to talk to the other beneficiaries and sell the property. That way it would be easier for all of you to divide the value. If you need some help with selling your inherited house fast, we at Dependable Homebuyers can help you sell your house fast and easy without the hassle of doing it on your own. To learn more, visit us at https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com.
Dependable Homebuyers
1402 Belt St, Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 266-6247
