Many shrug their shoulders about estate planning. They feel they don’t have an estate because they aren’t wealthy. They also think probate, whatever that is, sounds too complex. An estate consists of ...

My dad died recently and he left a will. The funeral home director says all we need to do is file an amendment with the will at the courthouse. Is that true? If so, what should it say? Furthermore, I ...

Q: My 34-year old son died unexpectedly. When he was a child, I opened a $2,000 savings account for him. I never told him about the account due to his bipolar nature but planned to surprise him when ...

It was time for Joe to start what was needed to handle his sister Carrie’s estate. She had died recently. He had her will and thought her estate was likely to qualify as a small estate under West ...

If you're named the executor of a small-business owner's estate by the probate court, it's your responsibility to oversee the estate's administration. Putting together an inventory of the decedent's ...

fizkes / Getty Images/iStockphoto (Part two in a three-part series regarding estate administration shortcuts.) Successfully pulling off the small estate affidavit on your first try is akin to hitting ...

When a loved one passes away in Oklahoma, a small estate affidavit may be used to bypass the probate process used to settle the estate. A small estate affidavit can help heirs and beneficiaries by ...

Virginia allows an heir of a person who has died to avoid probate by following a summary administration process using a small estate affidavit. With a small estate affidavit, an heir can usually claim ...

After a loved one passes, probate can be long and costly. But, beneficiaries could avoid this process with a small estate affidavit if the estate meets certain requirements. In Wisconsin, heirs can ...