Anthony A. Della Ripa
Attorney at Law
estate planning - estate administration - personal injury
-- Estate Administration --
When a loved one dies, we are struck with emotions and sudden obligations for which we did not ask. Someone has to secure the house, make sure the pipes don't freeze, make sure the lawn is still mowed, and then work with others to do repairs if the house will be sold. Someone has to go through all of the loved one's paperwork and mail to find out where the assets are. Someone has to make sure the insurances are still in effect or changed over. There are a lot of big obligations and a lot more smaller obligations.
On top of all that, we can't just hit the "pause" button on our own lives while we deal with this. We still have to continue living -- our jobs, families, shopping, health issues, and personal lives. For most of us, the last thing we want to do is to try to learn how to administer an estate correctly.
Whether a loved one dies with a Will ("testate") or without a Will ("intestate"), his or her estate must be administered in Probate Court if assets were solely-owned.
If the decedent is "testate," the Will usually states who the decedent wanted to be in charge of administering the estate and further lays out the distribution scheme. If the decedent is "intestate," the distribution is determined by state statutes based on whether the decedent was married, whether the decedent had children, and if neither, whether the decedent had relatives who are still living. In either event, the process can be lengthy, and much information must be gathered and provided to the heirs/beneficiaries of the estate. Creditors must be given time to make claims against the estate. Even the seemingly easiest of scenarios can be time-consuming, and mistakes or oversights can greatly extend the period of time needed to fully close out an estate and make final distributions to the beneficiaries.
In Connecticut, even if everything is owned jointly or passes outside of the probate estate, paperwork is still required to be filed with the Probate Court in order for the statutory fees to be calculated. This is even more important if any real estate has been owned by the decedent, since the Probate Court must issue a release of the inchoate liens of the State that automatically affect real estate. Failure to do so will act as a cloud on title, preventing the estate or devisees from later selling the real estate.
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Be warned! Administering an estate, no matter how easy you think it should be, will be time-consuming, frustrating, and challenging on you and your family, at a time when you don't need that extra stress and demands. As the fiduciary in charge of processing the Estate, you will have your work cut out for you just in terms of locating, safeguarding and maintaining assets, as well as communicating with the beneficiaries of the estate... and that's all in addition to knowing how proceeduraly to move the case through the Probate Court. This is why reaching out to an attorney experienced in administering estates is so
important. Having an attorney provide guidance throughout the process and handle the administrative tasks needed to properly administer the estate will greatly alleviate the stress, mental exhaustion and time burdens placed upon you, so you can continue living your life as best you can under these stressful and unfortunate circumstances.