After your loved one passes away, you may be unsure of how to proceed. If your loved one left a Will, one of the first things you will need to do is go through Probate in order to distribute your loved one’s Estate. However, starting Probate in Woodstock can be difficult without experience in the area. Allow our compassionate and well-practiced lawyers at Nelson Elder Care Law guide you through this process and help make it as easy as possible.
In order to begin the Probate process, you must provide certain legal documents to the court, which our Woodstock attorneys can help you obtain. The first of these documents is your loved one’s death certificate which you need to file a petition to Open the Estate. You can get this from the funeral home or the county coroner.
The other document you will need is a letter of testamentary. This is given to you by the Probate court and allows you to handle your loved one’s property. To receive this, you must file a petition with the county Probate court, take an oath to be sworn in as executor, and then the judge will grant you the letters.
In addition, you will need to obtain the tax identification number for your loved one’s Estate directly from the IRS. If you do not obtain this document, you will be unable to open the Estate accounts or process the assets’ income or funds.
One of the first steps of Probate is sending a Notice of Probate. In Woodstock, it is important that you send a Notice of Probate out to not only the required people, such as other heirs and blood relatives, but also the local newspaper. This is so creditors have the opportunity to know what claims they need to make and start to toll the statute of limitations on those claims. If you are the personal representative or executor, you will be responsible for issuing the Notice of Probate.
The Notice of Probate should include information about your loved one who passed away, as well as information about you and who the creditors should make notification to of their claims. The delivery method for a notice can be sent multiple ways, including filing in the newspaper, a personal acknowledgement sent to the postal service, FedEx, or a personal service sent by a process server.
Failure to file a Notice can severely delay the Probate Process and be problematic for creditors or heirs who do not receive Notice. After you give a Notice of Probate, you will have to swear an affidavit, which is a sworn statement that ensures that the court has a proper trail of Notice for the heirs and creditors.
Losing a loved one is always difficult, but going through Probate does not have to be. When starting Probate in Woodstock, you can look to our team to provide reliable and considerate guidance so you and your family can efficiently distribute your loved one’s assets. Call the office of Nelson Elder Care Law today to speak with our trustworthy team.
