One goal of estate planning is to ensure that your assets, including your home, pass to your chosen beneficiaries quickly and with minimal expense. In real estate, a common strategy to avoid probate (the court process of validating a will and distributing assets) is to add others to the title.
Category: Probate
Madison, WI Parental Warning: If You Own Your Property This Way, You May Accidentally Disinherit Your Own Children
Do you own your home, other property, or a financial account with someone else, such as a spouse or an adult child? If so, you might be surprised to learn that a common way of owning property could cause problems for your loved ones in the future.
While there...
Help! This Madison, WI Probate Is Taking Forever!
After a loved one dies, their money and property that goes through probate must be distributed to the people legally entitled to it, either according to a last will and testament (also called a will) or the state’s default distribution scheme (found in its intestacy statute). While most people want the settlement...
3 Simple Ways to Avoid Probate Costs in Madison, Wisconsin
The bad news: When a person dies owning property in their sole name without a beneficiary, their loved ones will have to go through a court-supervised process called probate to transfer the property out of the deceased person’s name and into the name of intended beneficiaries or heirs at law. Going through...
What to Do When You Do Not Own What You Think You Own in Madison, WI
Imagine the following scenario: You have been living in a house for years. As your mother’s sole heir, you inherited it from her when she passed away. You pay the taxes and insurance. You make the repairs and mow the lawn. You call it home, and everyone in the family calls it...
Nosy Neighbor Nellie Can Find Out About Your Probate in Madison, Wisconsin
Most people think of probate (the process of collecting, managing, and distributing a deceased person’s money and property) as a private process. However, because probate involves the court system, most filings become a matter of public record. That means your nosy neighbor Nellie can simply go to the courthouse or hop online...
How to Give Real Property to a Loved One at Your Death Without Probate Court Involvement in Madison, WI
A home is often one of the most important assets that people own. Therefore, most people want to stay in their home until they die and then have a loved one receive it. One common way to pass a home to loved ones is through a will. However, transferring property with a...
The Passing of James Earl Jones
“No, I am your father.”
These words, uttered by James Earl Jones in his voice-over role as Darth Vader, are indelible in the minds of Star Wars fans. Jones is also well known for voicing Mufasa in The Lion King and a series of cable news promotions in which...
Will My Revocable Living Trust Avoid Probate? In Madison, Wisconsin … it Depends.
If you have established a revocable living trust (which we will refer to simply as a trust), congratulations! You are on the right track in creating a comprehensive estate plan. However, you are only halfway there. Many people believe that because they took the time to create a trust, their estate will...
Wrongful Death and Probate
Wrongful death lawsuits and probate proceedings are both civil legal matters that occur after somebody has died.
When the death of a loved one is caused by another individual or entity, it can lead to the filing of a wrongful death lawsuit and, ultimately, the awarding of compensation to...