How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Probate Administration

No one wants to cause problems for their loved ones after their death. The choices you make in your estate planning today could cause loved ones to experience additional delays and costs as they try to resolve your affairs and distribute your estate. Here are some common pitfalls in probate administration in Connecticut, and what you can do to prevent them.

Why People Try to Avoid Probate

Probate is the legal process of distributing a deceased person’s (the decedent’s) assets to his or her next of kin or intended beneficiaries. Filing a probate administration petition in Connecticut’s probate court asks the judge to:

• Validate the Last Will and Testament
• Appoint an executor or administrator to do the work
• Resolve any outstanding debts or creditor claims
• Distribute the decedent’s assets according to the will or state law (if there is none)

But several common pitfalls in probate administration can slow down the process and make it more expensive.

Common Pitfalls in Probate Administration

The probate administration process can be confusing, and even overwhelming, for families in the midst of grieving and loss. Delays and additional costs can shrink the size of the estate, leaving beneficiaries with less than they expected to remember their loved one by. Here are some common pitfalls in probate administration, and how to avoid them.

Failing to Avoid Probate in Estate Planning

Depending on how your estate planning is done, it can drastically reduce the Connecticut probate court’s involvement in administering your estate. If you do the work ahead of time to create and fund a revocable trust, title real property jointly, transfer it to beneficiaries directly, and set beneficiary designations on bank accounts and investments, you may be able to reduce the size of your estate enough that your loved ones can use Connecticut’s simplified probate proceedings for small estates, making it easier for your loved ones to receive their inheritances after you pass away.

Naming the Wrong Executor

Many Connecticut residents assume that their spouse or oldest child will be the natural choice as executor. Although that is often the case, you should consider carefully the maturity and reliability of your executor, regardless of calendar age. In some cases, particularly where there will be complex financial and legal aspects of administering a large estate, it may be more beneficial to name a professional, for example, an accountant, financial planner or attorney as executor.

Failing to Locate and File a Loved One’s Will Quickly

While your family members absolutely should take time to grieve your loss, many people put off dealing with a loved one’s estate for too long after their death. Under Connecticut law, interested parties only have 30 days after a loved one dies to locate and file the decedent’s will or start the intestate probate process. If they wait too long, they could face fines that will reduce the size of the estate. One way to avoid this common pitfall is to store your will in a secure location that your executor knows about and can access quickly after your death.

Paying Unnecessary Taxes Due to Poor Estate Planning or Administration

The executor of your estate will also need to file a tax return for the estate, often within the first few months after your death. In addition, if your executor does not file the estate tax returns promptly, fines, penalties, and interest could add up to even more unnecessary costs and delays as the probate administration may be held up until the tax debt is resolved. Once again, this pitfall demonstrates the importance of working with an experienced estate planning attorney to anticipate and minimize estate tax consequences. Your executor should also hire an experienced probate administration attorney, who can ensure all the necessary tax filing deadlines are met.

Failing to Promptly Inventory Property and Establish Assets’ Value

Before an estate can be probated, your executor will need to perform a complete inventory and establish values for your various assets and properties. This may include working with realtors to establish the fair market value of real estate, or an auction house to perform an estate sale, liquidating your personal property items that aren’t bequeathed to a specific beneficiary. However, establishing the correct values for these assets takes time, and in the meantime beneficiaries and loved ones may take “keepsakes” that could cause the books to go unbalanced. One way you can streamline the inventory process is to keep a list of tangible personal property that you want your loved ones to have, and ensure your estate plan has an up-to-date list of all your assets, so nothing gets overlooked.

Probating Exempt Assets

Another pitfall executors need to avoid is accidentally including non-probate assets in the probate estate. Property that is jointly owned, has a beneficiary designation, or has been placed in a trust does not need to go through probate court’s systems. Including them could result in a more complicated probate process, and if the estate is large enough, additional taxes and costs. Your estate plan should include a list of all the title owners of your various assets, and disclose any beneficiary designations that have been filed on your accounts. This will make it easier for your executor to know what to leave out of your probate estate.

Get Help from an Experienced Probate Administration Lawyer

One of the best ways to avoid many of the most common pitfalls in probate administration is to go through careful estate planning with an experienced attorney while you are alive and in good health, who can also act as a probate administration attorney after you pass away. By getting an experienced attorney involved in advance, you can take full advantage of strategies to avoid probate and reduce potential costs and taxes, and make it easier for your loved ones to administer the estate after you are gone.

The probate administration attorney at Lawrence & Jurkiewicz, LLC represents clients in Hartford and Litchfield Counties. Attorney Edward Jurkiewicz can help you choose the right estate planning strategies minimize probate pitfalls and assist your loved ones in administering the estate. Please call us at 860-626-1333 or contact us at your convenience to schedule a confidential consultation.