Probate and Estate Administration

Whether you are a 30-something year old parent, a business owner, a grandparent farmer, or a child of elderly health-challenged parents, having a solid estate plan is vital to your current life as well as the lives of those you leave behind. Careful planning can ensure that your hard earned dollars are working for you today so that their values increase to maintain your long-term care, as well as ensuring that your life long assets are justly handled, avoiding their consumption by taxes. When a person passes without the proper legal documents in place, the state determines how their assets are distributed. Conversely, people whose last wills and testaments were created many years ago are astonished to learn that the document would not accomplish their desires today, or it does not include new family members, or a living will or medical proxy, all vitally important parts of a person’s care in their elderly years, as well as their desired bequests.

Upon a person’s demise, all of their debt’s are paid and their remaining assets distributed. Some assets, such as certain carefully worded life insurance policies are distributed directly, referred to as being ‘outside of probate’.

Probate is the legal process by which a person’s  debts are paid and assets are distributed upon her or his death.  It involves the "Probate Court", who appoints a "Personal Representative" to oversee the debt resolution and asset distribution process. While the term ‘estate’ conjures a mental picture of overwhelming assets, it is simply the legal entity that owns the deceased’s assets until those assets are distributed.

Estate Administration includes the probate process as well as non-probate transfers of the deceased’s assets.  Laws and procedures change over time; tax laws change annually; and the laws of the state of Wisconsin differ greatly from any other state. No differently than an annual physical by a doctor, people’s legal health is best maintained by regular check-ups with a qualified expert on the current laws for estate and probate administration; Tlusty, Hittner, Kennedy & Freeburg provide such experts for you.

Attorneys Peter Hittner and Philip Freeburg stay current on the changing laws and social issues affecting people’s estates. They understand that dealing with the death of a loved one, arrangement for the care of aging parents, children, and grandchildren can be a difficult, if not emotional for most people. They are sensitive to your feelings and take the time and care to explain all of the possible options and strategies available to you.

If you do not have proper documentation in place for your or your parents or children’s care and assets, or if you haven’t had a legal check-up in a few years, you may wish to take this opportunity to contact the bkennedy@tlustylaw.com to arrange an appointment to discuss your particular situation. They are there to help.