Probate Roundup 2014.10.6

Estate of Stephen XXXX.  Estate appraised at $204,659.04.  Statutory attorney fees to be $7,272.25 upon approval.  Statutory administrator fees (i.e., Stephen died intestate - - meaning without a will...so he has an "administrator" instead of an "executor") to be $7,272.25 upon approval. Total fees prayed for = <$14,000.00.  Looks like another probate that could have been avoided by proper trust planning.

Probate Round-Up: The Cost of Indecision

Probate Round-Up.  Small estate on the docket today ($45,000) in Estate of Arthur M. XXXXX.  Even small probates yield nice results for the estate attorney (i.e., in this case, $1,800.00 in statutory fees and $600.00 in additional statutory fees for sale of realty).  When the heirs desire to sell estate real property (i.e., instead of distributing shares as tenants in common), even if the real property is under the statutory amount of $150,000.00, the only way to accomplish the sale is through a formal probate.   

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