Estate and Trust Administration:  Our Approach

When death occurs in the family, immediate concerns focus on funeral arrangements and mourning the loss of a loved one.  However, the family must attend to many legal and financial matters.  Many questions and concerns come to mind when the estate of a family member or friend must be finalized.  It is comforting to turn to someone who has experience and who understands your concerns.

At Heritier Nance & Sheridan, we strive to minimize the uncertainty, confusion, cost, time and potential liability that an estate or trust or its beneficiaries might otherwise feel or incur without our assistance.  Our firm has a long tradition of providing estate and trust administration services to clients and families.  Our experienced attorneys and legal assistants can help to put your mind at ease while working efficiently to properly administer the estate or trust of a family member or friend.

There are many places you can turn for help.  Our experience and cost effective service can assure you that you have turned to the right place to handle these important matters.

The following list illustrates many of the estate and trust administration services which we can provide:  

1.  Gather required information for probate and file Probate Court petitions.

2.  Account for all estate transactions.

3.  Give proper notice to creditors of the estate.

4.  Prepare the estate inventory reflecting date of death holdings.

5.  Approve or object to the validity of claims filed by creditors of the estate.

6.  Plan to meet obligations of taxes, claims and distributions.

7.  Prepare and file tax returns and obtain clearances from state and federal taxing authorities.

8.  Prepare final accounting to accurately report all estate assets, income and disbursements.

9.  Make proper distributions to beneficiaries.

Full Disclosure of Services

Probate laws for estates demand strict compliance and are tightly drawn to protect the interests of beneficiaries, creditors, and taxing authorities.  Properly designated trusts can avoid the strict probate law requirements, yet certain trust reporting requirements (such as tax reporting) still exist.  Since the Personal Representative or Trustee may incur personal liability for errors in administering an estate or trust, it is normally advisable to retain legal counsel.

When we are asked to represent the personal representatives or trustee with estate or trust administration, our policy is to confirm our fees in writing.  Usually the fees for our services are paid from estate or trust funds.  As a result of our utilization of time-saving administration systems, and the extensive use of qualified legal assistants, our services are effective and efficient, which ultimately benefits the beneficiaries.

Administering estates and trusts requires an understanding of many legal and tax aspects.  We can assist estates, trusts and beneficiaries with these important matters.

Estate & Trust Administration

Personal Representatives and Trustees have important responsibilities including: