Collecting Assets After the Probate Process

Guidance from Our Experienced Alameda County Probate Lawyer

If you are entering your golden years or have a sizeable sum of money in your savings, you may have already drafted your will. Choosing who your assets will go to and why can be the hardest part of estate planning. Once this is finalized, your entire family will feel a sense of relief in knowing that the future has some sort of established guidelines. What many people do not realize, however, is that just because you allocate some of your estate to someone, they might not necessarily get it due to asset collections.

Even if your will manages to avoid a lengthy probate process, there could be third parties that still have a rightful claim to some of your property. If you need help with collecting assets after probate, contact Randick O’Dea Tooliatos Vermont & Sargent today to begin working with an experienced Castro Valley probate attorney backed by years of experience and happy client testimonials.

What Assets Can Be Collected?

It can be frustrating for your loved ones to learn that not everything you had set aside for them in your will can be seen through to the letter. While it is important to create your estate plan with a professional to avoid any mistakes or oversights, even the best laid plans are not always exempt from certain collections.

Three categories that may ultimately affect how your assets are collected after your passing include:

1. Taxes: State or federal governments may assume a portion of your wealth through gift or estate taxes.
2. Family inheritance: Close family members, such as spouses or children, could have a right to assuming control of portions of your estate, whether you named them in the will or not.
3. Creditors: Any debts unpaid to creditors after probate can be fulfilled by collecting assets that had originally avoided probate.

Preparing Your Assets for Probate

One of the best ways to avoid putting your loved ones through any confusion or trouble after your will goes through probate is to thoroughly prepare your assets ahead of time with our probate lawyer. With the help of our firm, you can catalogue the major portions of your estate and determine what assets will likely be collected after probate. This can establish what will not remain in your family’s control and may change how you decide others will inherit your wealth.

Let our Alameda County probate attorney help you review the following large pieces of your estate with you:

• Homes
• Businesses
• Family heirlooms
• Savings accounts
• Pensions
• Debts

As with many things in life, probate and estate planning all comes down to the preparation. For years, it has been the goal of Randick O’Dea Tooliatos Vermont & Sargent to provide the people of Alameda County with comprehensive and compassionate legal counsel at competitive rates. We are not here to push you into a hasty decision; we are here to guide you, step by step, through some of the most complex legal processes with confidence.

Call our Castro office (510) 344-2599 or Pleasanton Valley office (925) 460-3700 today to schedule your free initial consultation with us.