Estate Lawyer: Role and Responsibilities

An estate lawyer is a legal professional who deals primarily with the event of a death for someone with an estate to settle. While not everybody may need this particular kind of professional, some do. This profession actually starts the same way that all attorneys do. There is a prelaw course that usually takes around four years to complete after which the individual enters law school.

The course taken before entering law school is usually connected to the future profession or is something that can be used in the future. Schools that focus on producing lawyers offer courses that take up to eight to ten years to finish, depending on whether the individual is keen on specializing and continuing his education with specialized courses.

Of course, after around four to six years in law school, the BAR exam is usually taken up. Internship with a prestigious firm that has an opening with exemplary professionals is what the individual should aim for in order to gain experience as an estate lawyer.

Role and Responsibilities

The role of this particular attorney is to advise the representatives or executors as well as beneficiaries on how to go about settling the estate of a person who has passed away. There are actually many different aspects of legalities that are affected by death. Probate is the process by which an estate is divided between beneficiaries or the dissolution of an estate to settle any outstanding issues that the deceased may have left behind.

Assets will be located and secured whether they are under probate or not. All of the properties will be appraised and valued by a reliable source as instructed by the estate lawyer. It also falls on the legal professional to collect any life insurance policy that the decedent may have. The attorney may also offer advice and guidance to the beneficiaries or executors for the resolution of outstanding balances, debts and bills of the person who has passed away.

Obtaining payment for gift taxes or taxes pertaining to the properties of the deceased is something that the attorney can also help with. Income tax issues will also be included in this resolution. If selling of certain property is necessary to pay off balances, debts and other balances, then the estate lawyer can also lend a professional hand with this.

This is in cases where the liquid assets may not be enough to cover the many taxes that should be paid in connection with death and the transfer of properties to the beneficiaries. It is also his responsibility to file the necessary paperwork for the various actions that will be necessary in applicable laws pertaining to probate.

These documents should be filed with the corresponding court of law in a timely manner. When all has been settled, the attorney can also be hired for the retitling of whatever properties are left from the deceased for his or her beneficiaries.

These are most of the responsibilities that fall under an estate lawyer. The reality of it is that there may be more responsibilities that he or she is willing to take as long as it is discussed clearly between the legal professional and the client.