Finding a good probate attorney should not be a taxing ordeal, and why would you need a probate attorney in the first place?
A probate action in the District Court is required when an individual passes away leaving one or more probate assets in his or her name. The probate process essentially takes the decedent’s name off the title to these assets and places them in the name of the next of kin of the departed.
And what probate assets left behind by a decedent could give rise to one having to file a probate action you ask?
First would be real estate holdings. This could include a: home, rental property, lake property, a condominium, a deed to mineral rights, and the list goes on. This category is more often that not the primary reason a probate action is required. The examining title lawyer has reviewed the title abstract to a given piece of realty and determined the decedent owned the subject tract of land at the time of his or her passing.
Second would be a stock brokerage account where no beneficiary on the account is listed. This too gives rise to a requirement to file a probate.
The third reason why you would need a probate attorney are financial accounts held at a bank or other financial institution in which no beneficiary or beneficiaries are listed on the account by way of a payable on death provision.
The fourth reason and one we see more often that not is where a decedent has listed his ‘next of kin’ as the beneficiaries to his or her life insurance policy and/or annuity. That individual has passed and the representative from the insurance company and/or underwriter has no idea who those next of kin are. Hence, a probate action is required in the District Court, testimony is taken before the probate Judge, and that person’s heirs or next of kin are determined as a matter of law.
The fifth reason is where the decedent passed leaving an interest in a retirement account and once again, listed his beneficiary or beneficiaries as his or her “next of kin”. A Probate action determines who those heirs are and awards those people with the interest in the retirement plan.
For all these reasons and more a probate attorney will need to be retained. And when it comes to retaining competent counsel look no further than B.A. Law Center PC. We have been doing probates for decades and have the requisite experience when it counts most. Call us at 918-286-8001 and we will be glad to sit down with you and give you a very competitive rate.
