Nobody likes to spend a great deal of time thinking about the possibility of their demise. However, if a person has assets that they wish to distribute, or they have family that they want to take care of after they’ve passed away, as difficult as this subject may be, it’s something that needs to be considered carefully. The proper planning of a person’s estate is important and helping with the inevitable legal process that will ensue after a person passes away is also something to consider, which is precisely why many people put a plan into place to have the executor of their estate assisted in this legal process by a probate lawyer in Chicago.
While many people know the term probate, there’s a great deal that people don’t know about this process. Probate is a legal process that begins after a person passes away and helps determine any taxes that are owed on the estate. It also involves inventorying a decedent’s assets to properly value the estate. It is also the process where any debts that the decedent had are paid off. This is when the wishes of the decedent are executed by the executor of the will.
The probate process can be extremely lengthy and complicated, which is why having a probate lawyer in Chicago helping the executor of the will along in this process is so important. Many times, a family member, such as a spouse or the decedent’s child will be named as the executor of the will. This can place a great deal of stress on a person that is likely grieving the loss of their loved one. Having a probate lawyer can help take the strain out of dealing with the probate process and can help complicated matters to be much more easily understood and navigated by the executor of a person’s estate.
If you’re in the process of planning your estate, and you have named a family member as the executor of your estate, you may want to consider giving them legal advice through a probate lawyer. In some cases, you may actually name a probate lawyer such as Starr, Bejgiert, Zink & Rowells as the executor of your estate. In any case, proper planning can make a difficult time much easier for your loved ones.
