PROBATE AND ESTATE PLANNING

LAW OFFICE OF STEPHEN CAVANAUGH
  • When do I need a trustee?

  • If you want to put your property in a trust,the trustee
    holds title to the trust's property, invests the assets, and
    distributes the principal and income of the trust to the
    beneficiaries.

  • What is an executor?

  • The person who files the will for probate, locates the
    decedent's property, files an inventory, and when
    necessary, files the estate tax return.

  • The executor must also pay the estate's legal debts, and
    ultimately distributes the property to the beneficiaries of
    the will.

  • What are the duties of  a guardian?

  • There is a guardian of the person, who is responsible for
    the personal welfare of  a minor or other legal
    incompetent, and also sometimes a guardian of the estate,
    who is responsible for handling any property they might
    own.
  • Will I have to pay taxes on  the estate ?  

  • There is currently a federal estate tax,depending on the
    size of the estate. There is an exclusion from tax for
    estates up to $2 million dollars.

  • For Estate Tax Purposes in years 2007 and 2008 the
    Unified Credit is $780,800 and the Applicable Exclusion
    Amount is $2,000,000.

  • In 2009, the exclusion will be $3.5 million; however, in
    2011, it will return to $1 million

  • The highest estate tax rate,after the exclusion, is 45%,
    and returns to 55% in 2011
  • What costs, other than attorney fees, are involved in
    probating an ordinary will?

  • The Court Clerk charges a fee for the filing of the will, to
    issue Letters Testamentary, and for filing the inventory of
    the estate; there is also a publication charge to have the
    notice to creditors published.