PROBATE PRACTICE

If you have been named as executor, administrator or personal representative of the estate of a friend or relative, Hays Firm LLC can help you meet the requirements of the probate process and successfully settle the estate. Our services also include assistance with the proper administration of any trusts in which you are identified as the trustee.

PROBATE ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

We counsel and advise our clients who have been named as the executor or administrator of an estate through every step of the probate process. Our services include:

• Providing the proper tools to accurately account for all of the expenses of probate.
• Assisting in the completion of an accurate inventory of all of the assets of the estate.
• Helping to locate all possible benefits, including insurance policies and pension benefits.
• Assisting with property valuations, for certain types of assets.
• Completing state and federal estate tax returns, if necessary.
• Ensuring that all debts, estate taxes, and gift taxes are paid.
• Supervising the distribution of the estate in accordance with the terms of the will or state law.

We typically begin working with our clients at the beginning of the probate process; however, it is possible to retain us to assist if unanticipated problems arise during administration.

TRUST ADMINISTRATION

We help clients distribute and manage assets of deceased persons who held property in a living trust. If the decedent’s trust was properly funded prior to death, this process does not involve the courts. The trust document will specify where the decedent’s assets will go, and the trust administration process makes sure that the terms of the trust are carried out. The trust administration procedure includes:

• Paying the debts of the decedent.
• Selling or transferring stocks and mutual funds, drafting deeds, selling real property, auctioning personal effects, etc.
• Distributing the assets of the estate according to the terms of the trust.

Once all distributions are completed according to the decedent’s wishes, the trust is terminated. Though the trust administration process takes place outside of the courtroom, a trustee can greatly benefit from the assistance of experienced legal counsel throughout the process.

TRUST, FIDUCIARY AND PROBATE LITIGATION

We work with clients in the evaluation, consultation, mediation, and litigation of disputes involving trusts, estates, and fiduciary relationships. The transfer of a decedent’s wealth often gives rise to disagreements concerning the validity and meaning of trust documents and wills, the method of proper distribution of the assets of the estate, and the conduct of the executors or administrators responsible for managing and distributing those assets. These disputes may include:

• Trust and will contests.
• Petitions to remove fiduciaries such as executors of administrators.
• Actions seeking judicial reformation or interpretation of trust documents.
• Breach of fiduciary duty, mismanagement, and fraud claims.
• Actions seeking an accounting from the executor or administrator.

Hays Firm LLC routinely helps clients resolve these types of disputes prior to litigation. However, when litigation is necessary we are ready to prosecute our clients’ claims in the appropriate court. You may contact the Hays Firm LLC at (312) 499-9605 or via e-mail.