Wills and Probate
Posted by admin on Mar 14, 2010
A will could be made by anyone who is legally competent and at least 18 years of age. The person should be of a sound mind. When a will is being prepared, a testator or the person preparing the will should understand value of his property or estate. He should also be fully aware of the people to whom his belongings will be transferred.
For a will to be valid, it must meet several legal requirements. The laws for validating a will vary from state to state, usually requiring two or more witnesses. The process of determining a will’s validity is called probate, which means to prove or testify.
After the death of a testator, an orderly procedure is needed to assist in the proper transfer of property. A probate helps in ensuring that affairs of the deceased are duly settled. It safeguards the deceased’s estate, and also helps in paying all debts and taxes. It enlists the names of people entitled to the property and the type of assets. The probate has information that helps in distributing property according to the wishes of the testator.
In most cases, a personal representative or an executor is responsible for handling and settling the deceased’s estate. His responsibilities include contacting the heirs and creditors concerning probate proceedings. He determines and pays for state, federal and income taxes. If necessary, the executor may have to sell some part of the property in order to pay pending taxes and expenses.
Probate courts handle issues such as name changes and guardianship proceedings. They handle proving the will, appointing an executor, and settling the estate. When a person applies for probate, he is promising the probate court that he will deal with the estate, as set out in the will and according to law. If he doesn’t follow the proceedings of the will, he may have trouble with the court and with the people who should benefit from the will. When there is no will or there are no executors named in the will or the executors have died, the official form is called a letter of administration.
By: Josh Riverside
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Bankruptcy – Do’s and Don’ts
Posted by admin on Feb 17, 2010
Filing for bankruptcy is a serious decision and you have to be very careful in your approach towards the same. The procedure is a bit complex. Therefore, make sure that you follow the following do’s and don’ts:
The Do’s
Following are some important things that you must DO.
You must take your case very seriously. You have the constitutional right to use it as a tool to get rid of the debts that you are unable to pay. While you are filing your petition, you have to be very honest and forthcoming in providing all the details. Make sure that the information that you are providing is accurate and has not been manipulated. Your purpose is to get a discharge from your debts and you may not be able to achieve that by concealing your assets or providing false data on your bankruptcy petition. Such things will only guide you into a much deeper trouble. While you are working with your attorney, you should try to provide all the details to them without concealing any facts. Even if it is embarrassing for you, your lawyer must know about it. You must work in full co-operation with your attorney. You have to make yourself available for him whenever he wants to discuss any issues regarding your case. Meeting with your creditors is an important part of the process. Before, you participate in such meetings, it is always better to seek advice from your attorney about how you should behave in the meeting. Last, but not the least, you must also consider the bankruptcy alternatives before you actually file your case. Credit counseling and debt consolidation are some of the best tools that can help you pay off your existing debts without filing your petition.
Don’ts
Following are some of the things that you should not do.
You should not consider bankruptcy as an easy alternative to get rid of all your debts. Not all kinds of debts are dischargeable. Some non-dischargeable debts include Student loans, specific tax liabilities, etc. The meeting with the creditors must be held before filing the petition. You should not talk to them after you have filed your petition. Furthermore, any attempt from the creditors’ side to contact you must be informed to your bankruptcy attorney. You should not keep any of the creditors out of the petition. Make sure that all of them have been included. The ones that are not mentioned in your petition will still claim their money even after you have been declared as bankrupt and you would be liable to pay them back. Do not try to misuse your filing by availing lots of credit cards or running up a huge amount of bills. Such attempts may dismiss your case, as the court may consider your bankruptcy case to be fraudulent.
By: Saurabh K Jain
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Financing a Home After Bankruptcy
Posted by admin on Feb 14, 2010
I’m often asked, “can I still buy a home if I’ve had a recent
bankruptcy?”. Absolutely! Now, for obvious reasons, you can expect to
pay a higher rate on your mortgage than those who haven’t had a
bankruptcy. You actually have a couple of choices when it comes to
purchasing a home after a bankruptcy. You can get your mortgage through
a non-prime lender, or seek out an FHA Loan. Whichever mortgage lender
type you go with, be prepared to produce an explanation of the
circumstances of the BK, as well as the documentation and schedule of
debtors. You’ll also need to have re-established some credit in most
cases, to show the mortgage lender that you can now handle paying your
bills again. You needn’t be a novelist to write you BK explanation
letter, your mortgage broker can help with that. At our company, it’s
no big deal to help 20-30 people each month at writing their
explanation letter for Bk’s. We know what the mortgage lender is
looking for and what format they like, so relax when it comes to this
part of the loan. They really just want to know what the circumstances
surrounding your BK were, in layman’s terms. There are basically two
kinds of personal bankruptcies that mortgage lenders deal with; Chapter
13, where your debts are reorganized and paid out over time and Chapter
7, where your assets are liquidated. I’m not an attorney, so speak to
your tax advisor about each of these bankruptcies if you’d like
in-depth information about what they mean. You can usually get a home
mortgage in 12 months with a chapter 13 bankruptcy. You can expect to
wait at least 2 years for a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Either way, you can
expect to produce a trustee letter. It’s dis-heartening, but I meet
couples and individuals all the time who have either just filed
bankruptcy, or they have one being discharged and I’m unable to help
until they get a trustee letter, authorizing a home purchase. I hope
this helps you in your mortgage endeavor!
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By: Win Smiddy
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