How We Can Help You:
Estate Administration
We draft Wills, Trusts, and
Advanced Directives (including Living Wills and Health Care Agents
or Attorneys in Fact) and provide representation in connection
with the administration of decedent’s estates.
A brief description of the Probate of an Estate
follows:
Decedents may leave one (or more) wills; hence the familiar “Last”
in the term “Last Will and Testament.” When a will is offered for
probate, it must be proved to be the last will and testament and
otherwise give a person or some entity the power to
administer the Estate. Probate derives from Latin for Probatum, or
“having been proved.”
A person may die leaving no will, in which case the Estate is
called “intestate.” When a person dies without a Will, the legal
personal representative is known as the “Administrator.” This is
commonly a family member; however, that person, for various
reasons, may renounce their right to administer the Estate in
favor of another close relative. Sometimes a particular relative
may renounce his or her right to administer the estate if they
wish another to serve due to his or her superior statutory right
to qualify as personal representative. This often occurs when a
parent or parents are first in line to be personal representative
but they wish someone “lower on the list” to serve, such as one of
their children.
If no one steps forward to serve as personal representative, a
creditor may apply and if no other person qualifies or no other
person accepts appointment, the court will appoint a
representative from the public administrator's office.
Among the many duties of the personal representative are notifying
creditors and publishing a Notice to Creditors, in which there are
time factors involved in presentation of claims and the possible
rejection of same. Pending lawsuits over the decedent’s death or
in connection with the Estate itself may complicate matters.
Real Estate or other property may need to be sold as part of a
distribution of assets pursuant to the will or simply to pay
debts.
Estate taxes, gift taxes or inheritance taxes must be considered
if the estate exceeds certain thresholds.
Costs of the administration such as ordinary taxation, property
tax and tax on income of the Estate are paid from Estate assets
before distribution by the personal representative.
Other assets may simply need to be transferred from the deceased
to his or her beneficiaries, such as securities and life
insurance.
Some assets are not subject to probate and thus are not part of
the Estate.
Elder Law/Disability, Guardianships and Trusts
Incompetency Proceedings & Guardianship Administration
Planning for Long-Term Care (Nursing home, assisted living)
A client may desire that an attorney act on behalf of the client to
proactively develop a plan for coordination of extended care
professionals at home until such time as residency in a skilled-care
facility is necessary; to monitor the condition of the client; to
advocate for the best possible level of attention and care, to pass
along status reports to select family and friends. A client may also
desire that the attorney act as successor trustee to manage trust
assets with the assistance from the clients’ investment counselor
and other professionals.
Medicaid Issues and Applications
Establishing and Administering Special Needs Trusts
Settlement Preservation Trusts and Asset preservation
Medicaid Planning and Applications
Asset preservation
Coordination of Extended Care Professionals
Wills, Trusts and Advanced Directives (including Living Wills and
Health Care Agents or Attorneys in Fact)
Estate Administration
Ancillary Estate Administration (where the decedent is a domiciliary
of another State)
Special Proceedings
A Special Proceeding is a remedy where a party seeks to establish a
status, right, or a particular fact by Petition. A Special
Proceeding is different from an ordinary civil action involving a
Complaint seeking redress or prevention of a wrong or to protect or
enforce a right. The following are some of the Special Proceedings
that we handle:
Guardianship (the court supervised process of naming someone to make
decisions for an adult who cannot). The process is governed by
Chapter 35A of the North Carolina General Statutes.
Assignment of Year’s Allowance
Proceeding Against Unknown Heirs prior to distribution
Sale of Land to Create Assets
Alternatives to Formal Administration
Sale, Mortgage, Exchange or Lease of Ward’s Estate
Foreclosure
Power of Sale Foreclosures of Deeds of Trust
Judicial Foreclosures
Proceeding to Determine Ownership of Surplus Funds from Foreclosure
Sale
Real Estate
Title examinations: Title searches of Commercial Real Estate and
Residential Real Estate.
Deed Preparation: North Carolina General Warranty Deeds; North
Carolina Non Warranty Deeds; North Carolina Special Warranty Deeds;
Promissory Notes; Purchase Money Promissory Notes; Deeds of Trust;
Purchase Money Deeds of Trust; Owner Financing Documentation;
Release Deeds; Subordination Agreements; Encroachment and Boundary
Line Agreements; Offers to Purchase and Contract; Restrictive
Covenants.
Easements and Rights of Way, Water Rights Easements; Access Issues.
Real Property Civil Actions
Partition of Real Property
Proceeding to Establish Boundaries
Cartway Proceedings
Leases or Rental Agreements
Business
Counseling on issues regarding business entity formation
Partnerships, LLCs, Corporations, acquisition of existing
businesses, corporate financing, non-compete contracts and other
contract drafting, shareholder agreements and buy-sell
arrangements as well as dissolution of business entity.