Coping with Loss: Navigating Legal and Financial Challenges

By Alexander Pagnotta, Managing Attorney

Coping with death can be devastating when a close family member or friend dies. Unfortunately, in addition, there are a lot of technical, legal and financial issues that must be dealt with, along with the emotional ramifications of your loss. While time is needed to alleviate the grief of losing your loved one, attorneys at Sinclair Prosser Gasior can make the process of coping easier by taking care of the legal tasks through the estate administration process. 

Not knowing what the future holds is one of the most challenging things about coping with the death of someone you care about. This confusion is compounded by the fact that you also have to figure out what your financial situation will be and how the assets left behind by the deceased will be distributed. In many cases, assets will have to pass through a court supervised process called probate. There are cases where the deceased will have made an estate plan to pass on assets outside of probate, which can include a revocable living trust. Then, the trustee acts as the fiduciary to handle the estate through trust administration. Also, other non-probate assets that may transfer automatically include rights of survivorship and beneficiary designation.

If wealth must be transferred through probate, court paperwork will need to be filed to commence the process. The last will and testament that was left by the deceased should specify who will serve as the Personal Representative or executor of an estate. The court will then appoint the Personal Representative officially. This appointed individual will have numerous responsibilities during probate, including making certain that all interested parties are notified, managing estate assets and addressing tax issues.

The executor of an estate has the most responsibility during probate, and has a fiduciary duty to fulfill those responsibilities with reasonable care while acting in the best interests of the estate. It can be especially essential for the Personal Representative to be represented by an attorney because of the many tasks to complete.

The heirs or beneficiaries will want to protect their inheritance. Therefore, it is important to have legal guidance through the estate administration to help avoid potential issues that may arise in making estate decisions. Heirs or beneficiaries will be able to monitor the probate process to ensure that everything is going smoothly and will be able to respond if issues arise with the estate or the executor. It is never easy to handle a death. Stepping into the deceased’s shoes to manage their affairs and assets can be daunting and confusing. Sinclair Prosser Gasior will be able to guide you through the process to ensure that the estate administration is handled efficiently while bringing comfort during a difficult time.

If you need assistance, please contact our team today at (410) 573-4818 or spgasior.com/contact-us.