Hutto, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

No, probate is not automatic. Venue is appropriate in the state where the decedent was domiciled at the time of death. There can be issues in determining which state that is. Once that has been clarified, an interested party files an application or petition for probate. If your father died in another state and there are no assets there, you can open probate in Michigan, in the county where there are assets. If he was married, the wife would have priority for appointment as personal representative. Feel free to visit my website. I have a detailed description of the probate process posted there. I am very sorry for your loss.

Yes. You can set up multiple living trusts. However, what I have done in the past is to set up one living trust, and then have multiple irrevocable sub trusts. Each sub trust provides that upon a sale of the asset (i.e. real property) that the trust owns, unless a 1031 exchange occurs, the Irrevocable sub trust is terminated. The sole beneficiary of the irrevocable sub trust is the primary revocable living trust. If you (i.e. the trustee) want to buy one or more other properties, you just create a new irrevocable sub trust. I first began using this method with a client who owned multiple preschools, and the real property upon which they were located. Even with insurance, there is substantial risk of liability based upon the acts of employees, or just rumors about the school. In the 1980's commercial trustees lobbied for changes in the liability of trustees of California trust estates following changes in the law that required remediation of contaminated real property in California. Commercial trustees found themselves with unlimited liability when they merely held title to a parcel of real property that had been leased to a company that caused the contamination, or upon which contamination had migrated. There were others who were responsible for the contamination, but in many cases the companies not longer existed or did not have the resources to perform the remediation and filed bankruptcy.

Living outside Maryland does not prevent you from serving as personal representative of a Maryland estate, but you will have to designate a Maryland resident as your resident agent.