Probate can be a difficult and confusing process to handle. Dealing with the loss of a loved one is often so overwhelming that you can’t bring yourself to address the decedent’s financial affairs. Unfortunately, this type of delay often makes a difficult situation worse. Understanding the Probate Process Probate is the legal procedure your estate goes through after you pass away. During this legal proceeding, a court will oversee the process of appointing someone to be in charge (known as the “personal representative”), ensuring creditors of the decedent file timely claims and are paid. Also ..read more

The two most common devices for distributing your assets upon death are a will and trust. Both documents should contain language that provide for the distribution of your assets and this can be completed in a number of different ways. However, one clause in particular is the most important clause that should always be in your estate plan. The person entitled to receive a distribution of all or a portion of your assets pursuant to the will or trust is known as a “beneficiary”.  A “specific bequest” is a distribution of a particular item or asset to the beneficiary. For example, you le ..read more

In many instances, family members don’t move forward timely with commencing the probate process after the death of a loved one. Unfortunately, these decisions are generally based on poor information. Understanding the probate process. Probate is simply the legal procedure your estate goes through after you pass away. During this legal proceeding, a court will oversee the process of appointing someone to be in charge (known as the “personal representative”), ensuring creditors of the decedent who file timely claims are paid and the assets of the estate are distributed to the proper heirs or ben ..read more

In 2010 the New York Times printed an article entitled “The Un-Divorced”. The article discussed couples who have stayed separated for years but never got divorced. For example, Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, separated from his wife, Susan, in 1977 but remained married to her until her death in 2004 even though he had been in a long-term relationship with someone after the separation. Why no Divorce? The article discusses numerous reasons that married couples may separate but not divorce. “Divorce lawyers and marriage therapists say that for most couples, the motivation to ..read more

Probate is the legal procedure your estate goes through after a loved one passes away (the “decedent”). The court will oversee the process of appointing someone to be in charge (known as the “personal representative”). The personal representative ensures creditors of the decedent who file timely claims are paid and supervise the distribution of assets of the estate to the proper heirs or beneficiaries. Pros and Cons Probate has several advantages including the ability to challenge the Last Will and Testament if you believe the decedent lacked capacity at the time of its execution or if the doc ..read more

Probate is the legal procedure your estate goes through after you pass away. During this legal proceeding, a court will oversee the process of appointing someone to be in charge (known as the “personal representative”), ensure creditors of the decedent who file timely claims are paid and supervise the distribution of assets of the estate to the proper heirs or beneficiaries. However, some are nonprobate assets and aren’t subject to probate administration. What Are Some Examples of Non-probate Assets? Non-probate assets differ because they have a beneficiary designation. For example, the assets ..read more

You represent a seller and during the course of the transaction, your client passes away. Now what? The residential purchase agreement is still binding but before the transaction can proceed, the following issues will need to be determined: How is the property titled? If the property is owned by two persons as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, then the entire ownership will vest in the surviving joint owner upon the filing of an Affidavit of Death of Joint Owner with the Clark County Recorder’s Office, and the transaction can proceed. The same result would occur if the property were t ..read more

Inheriting some items can lead to the inevitable probate process, the legal procedure that is required but can take a long time to establish who is entitled to what. Plenty of assets do not require probate, which is good news for those who are inheriting items, but these are subject to some strict definitions. So, what types of assets are subject to probate? When do you need to start looking for a probate special administrator in Nevada? What Are Probate Assets? In the majority of cases, probate is reserved for the property that is owned solely in the name of the person who has now passed on o ..read more

 VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Lee Drizin: Hi, everyone. This is Attorney Lee Drizin. Today, we’re going to be talking about why you need a new durable power of attorney for health care decisions. In 2019, the Nevada legislature made some significant changes to the law which impacted these types of powers of attorney, and we feel strongly enough about it that we’re making recommendations to all of our clients that they need to consider having a new power of attorney for health care executed. Living Arrangements The first section that’s really changed is addressing this issue about authority pertaining ..read more

   VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Lee Drizin: Hi everyone. This is attorney Lee Drizin, and we’re going to talk today about declarations regarding the withdrawal or continuation of life-sustaining treatment found in advance directives. In all durable powers of attorney for healthcare decisions, there is a section that deals with these types of issues. I think that sometimes clients just don’t really spend as much time as they should to think about the implications of these decisions. Life-Sustaining Treatment We’re going to cover some of the issues regarding the options that are available regarding t ..read more