Why Do You Need To Hire A Probate Attorney?

Death is a significant part of every person life. Death of a person brings many difficulties to his/ her family. Along with the emotional stress, a family also goes through the pain of will distribution. The descendants of the deceased are supposed to receive the assets, as per the will. The person, who is in charge of creating the will, appoints an executor who can handle the distribution of assets.

Responsibilities Of A Probate Attorney

The probate process begins immediately after a person dies. This involves the validation of beneficiaries, settling disputes, determination of the remaining assets, if any, and the final transferring of the assets to the respective heirs. If you have been chosen as the executor of your relative's will, it is wise to seek help from a probate attorney in Athens.

Probate laws have their own legal ramifications. One needs to be cautious of court procedures while executing a will distribution. Hiring a probate attorney in Athens GA can be very helpful as he can advise you the best in your case. A legal procedure involves complex paperwork that needs to be drafted and maintained properly. An attorney can make such issues easy for you to deal by highlighting the particulars of your probate case.

Here are some duties of a probate attorney:
1. Petition to probate the will and appoint the executor.
2. Providing legal notice to all of the deceased’s hairs.
3. Making sure that all the debts and taxes are cleared.
4. Minimizing estate taxes and making sure that the property is transferred correctly to its beneficiaries.
5. Sale of the estate assets if required.
6. Inventory and appraisal of the estate assets by the executor.

Hiring Athens probate attorney can relieve you to a great extent and can make the process smoother. Though, you need to be cautious when you choose an attorney for your case.  Ensure your attorney holds good experience and knowledge in the field. A death in the family comes with an emotionally draining situation. A good probate attorney can free you from every tension and hassle.

Probate Attorney-Avoiding Probate Using Living Trust

No one wants to get their estate stuck in probate after they have died. Most people end up their estates, when the courts oversee paying debts and distributing assets. It can be cheap and time-consuming. Using a living trust is one way to avoid probate. Well, you can avoid this, so when you meet with wills and Athens probate attorney, make sure to ask them about their specific experiences and whether they have worked with many clients in your particular situation.  Be sure that you are also comfortable with your attorney. Here, it is explained, what a living trust is and how you can establish one.

• Avoiding Probate, Saving Time & Money

A living trust should not be considered same as will. With a simple living trust, you put your assets into a trust when you are still alive. Due to which, you get to manage the trust and can keep control over your own property and other assets.

There are some good reasons to move your assets into a living trust while you are alive, and the living trust can also help avoid probate once you are died. Through a living trust, your assets can be easily and quickly transferred to your beneficiaries once you have deceased, thus avoiding probate completely.

For instance, married couples with kids can set up living trusts for property they own together and separately. With a living trust, you can manage your assets if you should become incapacitated. When one spouse dies, the assets go to the other spouse, who is the trustee, in this   way the living trust has been set up.

• Creating a Living Trust

When you create a living trust, you become the grantor, settler or donor. Once the trust is established, you can transfer your assets to a person or anyone you like.

You will have to name a trustee during creation of your living trust. It can be you or your spouse, or you may want to designate a friend or family member.

A living trust is erratic, so you can always change it when you want to. If you don't modify it, then your living trust ends when you die. At that time, the trust becomes permanent and can't be changed.

• Working with Wills & Probate Attorney

You don't need to have a wills and lawyer to create your living trust, but it makes sense to talk to a probate attorney in Athens who focuses his practice on estate planning. There are many issues involved in a living trust, and state laws vary a lot. You want to be sure your trust is set up exactly the way you want it to be. Setting up a living trust requires you to think about a lot of tough issues, and you want your lawyer to understand your goals and make sure your assets stay out of probate. An experienced probate attorney in Athens Georgia can help you avoid complications with wills and probate.

4 Important Steps for an Estate Planning Process

If you are an owner of a large estate, hiring an estate planning law firm in Athens GA to set up an effective plan for you can give you peace of mind. It can also give you a certain degree of relief as you know that you have conquered over a problem that will surface at a time when you can do nothing to resolve it. Given below are some of the points that you need to consider when dealing with your estate plan:

•  Plan Early

It is always good to do estate planning while your mind is still intact. A mentally incapable person can no longer carry out estate planning process.

 This makes life harder for you and your loved ones, mostly if they are still minors.

• Work with a Capable Estate Planning Law Firm

Estate planning embraces legal matters and the right law firms that can do it effectively are the ones who have professional attorneys with the essential qualifications to make it happen. Don't ever attempt to do it yourself, as it will only create mess and waste thousands of dollars in court litigation expenses if it does not become a legal document.You should always keep in mind that invalid documents are not honored anywhere.

• Guardian Nomination

You should appoint a guardian for your young sons and daughters; otherwise a judge will do it. He has the power to nominate somebody who will take care of your children in case you die unexpectedly. Nominating a guardian for your children can help prevent conflicts between your qualified relatives from fighting over the right to become your children's lawful guardian. You also need to allocate a backup guardian as a preventive measure just in case your first choice can't serve for any reason.

• Select the Best Fiduciaries for Your Beneficiaries

Assigning the fiduciaries that can get along well with your beneficiaries is one of the wise moves you can do to prevent the parties from future legal confrontations. They must be in good terms with one another. It is always logical to select a fiduciary that your beneficiaries honor, respect and get along well with for your own peace of mind. You may need the expert advice of your attorney to help you find the best trustee for your beneficiaries. Try to be honest with him and things will work out fine.

These are some of the most significant steps you can take to make an effective estate plan. They can really work for you.

How to Figure Out That You Need a Tax Attorney to resolve Your Tax problems?

If you are going through any of the following circumstances, you might consider them as a signal that you need a tax attorney.

Do you remember the last time when you filed an income tax return with IRS? If your answer is no, then you should consider hiring a tax attorney to review your IRS account. Even if you do not owe the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) any money, a  tax attorney in Athens GA may be able to uncover refunds to which you are entitled, but have not collected.

If You Receive an Assessment Letter

If you got an assessment letter in the mail from the IRS, it means that the IRS has dogged that you owe them money. The assessment letter is the initial step in the collection process and it notifies you what you owe and why .If you do not respond to the assessment letter at right time, your IRS debt will continue to grow. So, it is a good time to retain help from a tax attorney as he will respond on your behalf, leading to a satisfactory settlement.

If IRS Files a Federal Tax Claim

In case of federal tax claim, everything you own becomes prone under such a collections process. Mostly, IRS files this claim against you when you do not respond to several notices regarding an unpaid balance and a notice and demand for payment. At such circumstances, a tax attorney makes all the payment arrangements in order to get the claims released.


If You Receive a Notice from IRS

Once a Federal Tax claim has been filed against you, IRS will perhaps take even more action like attempting to levy your bank accounts. If you receive a notice of intent to levy from the IRS, you should take help of a tax attorney, as you have limited time to stop the Internal Revenue Service from levying your bank accounts.


If IRS Files a Trust Fund Recovery Act penalty

If you are a business owner and the IRS files a trust fund recovery act penalty against you, look for the advice of a tax attorney. This Act Penalty is in response to non-payment of employee withholding and it can be strictly relentless.

Some people are hesitant to seek help from a tax lawyer. Though there are some gripping situations in which you should not rely on your own verdict, and hire an experienced tax attorney who not only cares about your financial well-being but provide you exceptional tax services as well.