When a loved one passes away, what do you do next? Who do you call? Do you pay bills for the your loved one? Do you try to get into the bank accounts of your loved one to pay bills or distribute it to others? Answers to these questions come with great consequences if not handled properly from the very beginning. Gwyn will help you every step of the way, in any situation.
What is it?
Estate Administration: When a person passes away owning assets solely in his/her name AND there is no beneficiary(s) designated on the asset (executed by the deceased person before death), the probate process (estate administration) is necessary to get those assets distributed to the appropriate parties.
- Without a Will: When a person passes away owning assets as described above, and does not have a Will, Michigan has a set of statutes that determines the persons that are entitled to the assets. Someone must petition (have a hearing) the Probate Court to appoint a person that will do the work (Personal Representative) to collect, liquidate, and distribute the assets. Also, Michigan has a set of statutes that determines the priority of (or who has a right to) appointment as Personal Representative. If there is more than one person with priority, both/all have an equal right to serve and may find themselves involved in a lengthy Court battle.
** Without an Estate Plan, people that you did not want to receive assets from your passing may have a right to a share; alternatively, people that you did want to receive a share of your estate may be left out without any recourse.
- With a Will: When a person passes away owning assets as described above and does have a Will (an estate plan), then the Probate Court is bound by the Will and the provisions in it stating who can serve as the Personal Representative and to whom the assets get distributed. You are able to control what happens when you make an estate plan, not the State of Michigan and a Probate Court.
- Whether it is with or without a Will – Estate Administration occurs in a Probate Court and is made a public record such that anyone can find this information and see the documents related to that estate simply by going to the Probate Court and asking.
Trust Administration: When a person passes away after having executed and properly funded a Trust, then the Trust Administration process is necessary to get the trust’s assets distributed as stated in that Trust.
- If drafted and funded properly, administering a Trust does not require the opening of a Probate Estate in the Probate Court. All records and actions of the Trustee are not made public and are carried out according to the provisions of the Trust and without Court involvement.
- Funding is CRITICAL – After executing your Trust, Gwyn will help you as much as you need with the funding of that Trust so that everything will proceed smoothly after you pass away. Without funding your beneficiaries may experience a lengthy process of getting your assets to your trust after you pass away.
Call Gwyn to see what your next steps should be to be sure you are securing assets and property of the deceased before beginning the process of estate or trust administration. If you are the person that is likely to handle everything after someone passes away, you will want to to determine whether that person executed a Will or Trust during his or her lifetime. If possible, obtain the original estate-planning documents and call Gwyn for your next steps.