Universal City, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

If you, as the Administrator, are represented by an attorney then your attorney should properly advise you about your duties. If you feel like your attorney has not properly advised you, you should feel free to contact your attorney and express that you are feeling unsure about your duties and responsibilities as Administrator. If you are still not satisfied after speaking with your attorney, you might be well-served to consult with another attorney. Unfortunately, some attorneys advertise that they practice probate law, when the reality is that they do so very infrequently and are not as familiar with probate law as they should be. You should ensure that your probate attorney is experienced in probate law and that probate is a main practice area, not just an occasional practice area. If you are not represented by an attorney, you are responsible to understand your duties and responsibilities on your own. In Clark County, Nevada, the Court will not provide you with any documents or forms describing your duties. Title 12 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (Chapters 132-156) governs probate law and procedure in Nevada. You should review and become familiar with the requirements of these Chapters, though this may be a daunting task for a non-attorney. Accepting the position of Administrator requires you to perform your duties properly, whether you are represented by an attorney or not. If you fail to perform your duties properly, you could subject yourself to personal liability for any harm caused to the estate. Though it is possible to perform your role as Administrator without an attorney, you would be well-served to retain an experienced probate attorney who will help you understand your duties and responsibilities and will ensure that the probate administration is performed properly and quickly.

If your mother does not know about the debt, then she could not have consented to the debt; therefore, your mother has no personal obligation for the debt upon your father's death. However, upon your father's death, his estate, consisting of his separate property (and his community property, if he resides in a community proper state), is liable for any of your father's just debts. Therefore, upon your father's death, the creditor may sue his estate for payment of the debt. Thus, although your mother may anticipate inheriting all of your father's estate, that estate will be liable to pay the debt, and if the creditor is successful in making its claim against the estate, your mother will, in effect, pay for the debt due to inheriting your father's estate subject to this debt. With that said, if your mother is the direct beneficiary of the life insurance proceeds, the creditor may not reach the $18,000 death benefit from the insurance policy, as long as those proceeds are not payable to your father's estate. If your mother is deceased, then the same principles apply to the children as inheritors of the estate. In no event will your mother or the children be obligated for the debt in excess of the value of your father's estate, excluding the insurance proceeds. So, for example, let's say your father's debt is $50,000, and that he has separate property valued at $20,000 and there is $18,000 in death benefit payable to your mother under the insurance policy. The creditor may go after only the $20,000 of separate assets of your father, and if the creditor is successful in collecting the $20,000 in satisfaction of the debt, that is all the creditor will be able to receive. The creditor cannot sue your mother or the children for the $30,000 remaining on the debt, neither can the creditor touch the insurance proceeds.

A trust may provide that assets go to whomever the trustor intends, be it a spouse, charity, next of kin or an unrelated third person or entity. The only thing customary is that the trustor decides who is to receive his or her trust assets.