Montgomeryville Estate Administration Lawyers
Experienced Lawyers Work with Families to Administer the Estates of Deceased Loved Ones
When you and your family lose a loved one, after you have gotten over the initial shock and grief of your loved one’s passing, you and your family will begin the process of winding up your loved one’s affairs and distributing the money and assets he or she has left behind. This process is known as estate administration. If your loved one has left behind any assets of some value, the estate administration process can have many steps that require preparing court documents, tax returning, and accounting statements.
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Let an experienced estate administration lawyer in Montgomeryville, PA help you and your family through the probate process so that you can focus on the grieving and healing process. Contact Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford, P.C. today to schedule a free consultation to learn more about how our experienced attorneys can help your family with the process of winding up your loved one’s affairs.
Steps of Pennsylvania Estate Administration
In Pennsylvania, estate administration for a deceased person’s estate begins when the person named in the decedent’s will as the executor files the will with the register of wills. If the decedent died without having written a will, a surviving family member will typically step forward to serve as the administrator of the estate.
The executor or administrator will file a petition for probate, asking the court to open a probate case. The court will issue letters testamentary to the executor, or if there is no will, “letters of administration”. This document gives the executor or administrator the authority to begin acting on behalf of the decedent’s estate to start gathering assets. For certain transactions, the executor or administrator may require court approval.
The executor/administrator will then provide notice to heirs named in the will, beneficiaries, creditors, informing them that the probate process has begun. At this point, heirs, beneficiaries, or creditors may object to probating the will or to other aspects of estate administration undertaken by the executor or administrator.
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The executor or administrator must file an inheritance tax with the state of Pennsylvania within nine months of the decedent’s death. For multi-million dollar estates, federal estate tax may also be due. Once the decedent’s debts and the estate’s taxes are paid, the executor or administrator will prepare an accounting, which describes what assets the estate contained, how the estate has been managed, and how the remaining assets will be distributed.
For estates with a total value of $50,000 or less, the executor or administrator of the estate can petition the court to use a simplified estate administration procedure, which will allow the administrator or executor to begin distributing the estate without needing to go through certain steps of the regular estate administration process.
Compassionate Estate Administration Attorneys in Montgomeryville Help Families with the Loss of a Loved One
Trying to wind up a departed loved one’s affairs through the estate administration or probate process can be a complex, confusing process. You may find yourself having to fill out and file complex forms with the court. Or you may face difficulties trying to locate and secure your deceased loved one’s assets, such as getting access to safety deposit boxes or bank/brokerage accounts. And you may be facing difficulties and disputes from creditors or other family members who believe they are entitled to certain money or assets.
Let the experienced Montgomeryville estate administration attorneys of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford be a vital resource to you and your family and help guide you through the complexities of the estate administration process. Our firm can help you with the difficult aspects of estate administration, such as:
- Conducting a will search
- Filing a petition for probate
- Defending against a will contest
- Gathering estate assets
- Filing inheritance or estate tax returns
- Preparing or filing a final accounting
Schedule a Free Consultation to Talk with a Knowledgeable Estate Administration Attorney in Montgomeryville Today
Losing a loved one is already a difficult process for any family. It can be even more difficult when your loved one leaves behind significant assets and/or limited instructions about how to wind up his or her affairs. Let an experienced estate administration attorney in Montgomeryville, PA help you and your family through the process of administering your loved one’s estate so that you have one less thing to worry about during such a difficult time. Contact the Montgomeryville estate administration attorneys of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to learn more about how our firm can help you and your family.
Frequently Asked Questions about Estate Administration
For a simple estate with few assets whose beneficiaries are in agreement about how the assets are to be distributed, estate administration can be as short as several weeks following the decedent’s death (although estate and final lifetime income tax returns may need to be filed in the months following the decedent’s passing). However, for more complex estates or cases where beneficiaries or other persons contest a decedent’s will or other aspects of the estate administration, it can greatly lengthen the process of estate administration due to the need to engage in a formal accounting and other litigation associated with the dispute.
If a person dies without a will but leaves assets behind, those assets must be distributed according to Pennsylvania’s intestate succession rules. Under the intestate succession rules, a decedent’s assets pass to close surviving relatives, usually a spouse and children or other descendants. However, if a person does not have a surviving spouse or surviving descendants, his or her parents or siblings could inherit, with the rules search further and further out on the family tree to find the closest living relatives. If a person has no living relatives that can be identified, then the intestate succession rules state that his or her estate will “escheat” to the state treasury.
