Mirror of Justice

Probate Real Estate Investing

July 19th, 2009 at 07:09pm Under Probate Law

Are you looking for a ready market of motivated home sellers who are often willing to sell at a deep discount — a market where you’ll have little to no competition at all?

If your answer is ‘who isn’t?’, then there’s a slew of real estate investors who want to tell you their secrets to buying probate real estate. According to many of them, probate real estate sales are easily the single most profitable area of real estate investing.

What Is Probate Real Estate?

When a person dies, their estate – all their worldly belongings – often goes into probate court, where a judge appoints an Executor to oversee its administration. It is the Executor’s job to make sure that the belongings are divided fairly and according to the decedent’s wishes. Depending on the state, the judge may also give the Executor different levels of power.

Why Are The Owners Of Probate Property So Motivated?

In many cases, when an heir inherits property, they inherit a burden. There are estate taxes to be paid, repairs that must be made, even, in some cases, a mortgage or second mortgage that must be kept up to date. Ready cash may be more important to them than any other factor.

Add in the fact that there are often multiple ‘owners’, and many of them may live far away, and you have a situation where selling the house is the best, sometimes only option to make sure that everyone gets their fair share of the estate.

Isn’t It Illegal To Sell Property That Is Being Probated?

It’s commonly assumed that sales of real estate in probate are extremely difficult, if not impossible. The truth is that, in most cases, the Executor has the power to make a decision to sell – as long as he has the agreement of all the heirs to the estate. In some cases, he or she may also need the permission of the court, but even if that happens, the agreement of all the heirs will usually be all the judge needs to approve a sale of real estate. Research the laws in your state for any requirements – for instance, some require that the property be listed through a licensed Realtor.

How Do I Find Properties In Probate?

Wills in probate are a matter of public record. A little research at your local courthouse will get you a list of all wills presented for probate. A little more legwork will turn up records of deeds to properties held in their name. It’s all a matter of a little research to find properties whose owners are eager to sell, and sell quickly.

How Do I Contact People About Buying Their Inherited Property?

Unlike foreclosure sales, where the owners are being forced to sell when they don’t want to, many heirs are eager to sell their property quickly so that they can use the cash realized. You can send out letters or postcards, make a phone call, and even pay a personal visit. Just keep in mind that you are offering a solution that they may not have considered – ready cash. In many cases, they’ll be happy to accept an offer for as little as 75% of the market value of the house just to get it sold quickly, and will do anything they need to do to help the sale go through.

Go to: RealEstateInvestorsLife.com for more info.

Shoud You Probate or Not?

July 19th, 2009 at 01:08am Under Probate Law

Probate – Some Things You Should Know

July 17th, 2009 at 07:08pm Under Probate Law

Assistance From a Wright County Probate Attorney is Always Recommended

July 17th, 2009 at 01:09pm Under Probate Law

Are you looking for an answer to the question: is probate really necessary?  The answer is not always clear. The process of the probate might be different depending on the situation. In some cases you will need the assistance of a Wright County probate attorney to oversee the process and especially when the proceedings require involvement of the probate court. In other situations especially of mentioned in the decedents will, the involvement of the court is not required at all. But probate is necessary whether a decedent has left a will or not.If you are going through the court then your Wright County probate attorney will advise you to fill out certain forms as advised by the court and you will also be asked to appear in the Wright County probate court as well for the following:1.    You will need to provide valid proof of the Will being authentic and original. This is a normal procedure in probate courts in all counties2.    If there is no will in place then the probate court will appoint a legal representative also known as the personal representative who will have the necessary authority to act on various affairs of the estate on behalf of the decedent. The legal representative appointed is normally the spouse and will be responsible for handling and managing the estate3.    You will have to be in the court during the proceedings for identification of the decedent’s assets and will be required to get decedent’s property appraised4.    The personal representative will be responsible for paying off any debts incurred by the decedent and take care of taxes as well5.    The court will ensure the distribution of the property or estate on the basis of terms and conditions mentioned in the decedent’s will if there is one. The assets will be distributed to the heirs or beneficiaries mentioned in the will.The only time, a probate will not be required is when there are no decedent assets. This means that the person who has died did not have any property or assets that could be transferred to his/her heirs. Of course, with the help of a Wright County probate attorney, the children or relative of the deceased person can apply to open a probate only if they find that there are unpaid debts or taxes. In Wright County, the probate can be handled by a personal representative as appointed by the court or by a Wright County probate attorney as appointed by you. The personal representative is also known as the executrix, executor, administrator or even an administratrix. The personal representative is appointed for the sole reason of speeding up the probate proceeding and he/she is given the entire responsibility of handling and managing the decedent’s estate throughout the duration of the probate proceedings.  Of course, the appointment of a personal representative is subject to different probate rules as well as procedures mentioned within the state laws. This is an important aspect of any probate proceeding.

Probate and Estate Planning

July 16th, 2009 at 07:08pm Under Probate Law

The information you obtain from this article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
There are few things in life that are an absolute certainty. Morbid as it sounds, death is one of those certainties. However, life is not predictable and could take a turn for the worst at any moment. Unlike other unpredictable events in life, the certainty of death provides an opportunity to prepare for it. People do not usually think that it is necessary to prepare for death until old age, but due to this unpredictability, it is never too early.
The process of allocating everything a person owns, or his/her estate, is known as Estate Planning. This planning will ease the process of dividing your estate amongst your heirs or loved ones once death occurs. It will save them time, money, and effort, and will make sure that your desires for your estate are met.
There are a number of ways that estate planning can be accomplished. The most basic type is a simple will, but other ways include planning your funeral arrangements, life insurance, and other directives. Some people question the importance of planning funeral arrangements, but it can help surviving loved ones enormously. It makes things less complicated for loved ones when death occurs by allowing them to express their grief, rather than hiding emotions during the funeral arrangements.
A comprehensive plan can meet your needs and desires while meeting other important estate planning objectives. These include avoiding probate, reducing the amount of estate shrinkage during this process, providing sufficient liquidity to cover costs of the estate settlement, minimizing federal and state taxes related to the process, and helping to maintain your family’s standard of living by not burdening them with other financial burdens. Of these, avoiding probate is one of the more significant objectives to meet.
Probate occurs when the legal system becomes involved in how the estate of a deceased person should be settled and distributed. In many cases, probate is not necessary. If a person is married without a legal will, the estate will be transferred to their spouse upon death. If a will does exist, a person will be chosen by the deceased to be the executor of the will. This person, a family member or attorney, is responsible for following the instructions about what is to happen with the estate. Life insurance policies, bank accounts, or other items that name a beneficiary or have a “payable on death” clause are not generally probate issues.
If a will does not exist and the person is not married, and in many cases even when a will does exist, the court system then becomes involved, leading to probate. The purpose of probate is to make sure that debts are paid and that the estate (property, possessions and money) is properly distributed to loved ones according to the wishes of the deceased.
Probate proceedings can vary from state to state, so it is important to seek professional help from an attorney that has experience with wills and probate cases. The death of a loved one and distribution of possessions that may have sentimental value to survivors can be an unpleasant situation. Seeking legal counsel will help to protect your rights and help you understand what is happening and why, but even with help, probate cases can take more than a year to be completed. If everyone involved can agree to work together to respect the wishes of the deceased, probate can be a smooth process that becomes more a remembrance of the deceased rather than an ugly quarrel over estate.
The best way to avoid putting loved ones in the hassles of a probate situation is to prepare a comprehensive estate plan for when death occurs. Estate planning not only saves time and effort of your loved ones, but also gives you the satisfaction of knowing that your own wishes and desires for your estate will be fulfilled. To avoid making mistakes, seek out professional advice from a qualified attorney who can help with the process and can help you get the most out of an estate plan.
The information you obtain from this article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.

Probate Auctions On E-bay

July 16th, 2009 at 07:08am Under Probate Law

Whenever a person dies and leaves behind debt creditors, the administrator or executor of that person’s estate faces certain challenges in quickly selling real and personal property in order to satisfy creditors. The probate process is long and drawn out, and every shortcut available should be sought in order to shorten the amount of time that property is tied up in the process. Recently, with the great success of E-bay, people have discovered a quick and efficient way to unload property in order to satisfy debts. Not only has E-bay made the general premise of auctioning easier, it has also made it more understandable and desirable to the masses.
It is the jurisdiction’s Probate Court’s responsibility to ensure all probate assets are collected, maintained, and distributed among the decedent’s heirs, beneficiaries, and/or creditors in accordance with the will of the decedent as expressed through that person’s testamentary will and the laws of that jurisdiction. This process is known as the administration of a decedent’s estate, and it can cause great difficulties to even the most experienced executor. Once the person dies, the executor or administrator must first make an accounting to the Probate Court to determine the value of decedent’s estate. Second, they must seek to pay any taxes or debts owed. Only after the debts and taxes are paid, do the decedent’s heirs or beneficiaries get any of the probate property. As the probate process can often take more than a year, using E-bay, or other comparable online services can assist in satisfying the creditors and debts owed by the estate. However, it should be pointed out that under Massachusetts law, creditors do have one-year to make any claims against the estate.
Even a quick browse through E-bay listed properties presents many real properties for sale which are currently in probate. Utilizing E-bay and other online auction tools can allow a person to achieve the greatest value for the estate, since auctions can be held across the country, creating a true marketplace for the decedent’s property. Online auction sites allow for the administrator or executor to realize a more accurate value for what is being sold. This tool can actually demonstrate that the executor has fulfilled his or her fiduciary duties. However, when selling real probate property over an online auction site, the administrator of the estate should first seek court approval. While auctioning off real property from a probate estate will help move the process along, it might not have a substantial effect on the overall speed of the probate process itself, though it can be of assistance in clearing up creditors and determining priority of payment. The true value of sites such as E-bay lies in their ability to allow the seller to achieve the greatest amount for the property as possible. While only hundreds might attend an auction in person, E-bay allows thousands of people to participate in the auction, all the while driving the price up and leaving more money to the estate.
The valuable advocate must have a clear understanding of the best ways in which to assist their clients or their client’s estate in obtaining the best value for any property in probate. Utilizing newer technologies in order to gain value or speed the hassles of probate can create substantial good will in the eyes of the client or their estate. The role of the effective attorney is to reduce problems and headaches and to make life easier for clients. If an attorney can also reduce costs, increase value and speed along the probate process, he or she just might have found lifelong clients. Additionally, having a clear understanding of available technologies can help to assist executors of estates in fulfilling their fiduciary duties of successfully executing the intent of the decedent.

The Hidden Treasures and Profits of Probate

July 15th, 2009 at 01:08pm Under Probate Law

To make money in real estate you need an advantage over your competition. So why not just eliminate them! Now I don’t mean you need to go out and create a bunch of probate by whacking all your competition. What I do mean is that you need to play real estate the same way I would like for my favorite team to play football—move to another arena. What I mean is that you need to go looking in hiding places that nobody else is looking in to find those hidden treasures. That is where probate comes in. I’ll never forget when my partner and I were filming our DVD for our course, The Hidden Treasures and Profits of Probate, at the probate courthouse. (learn more about the course at http://www.probaterealestatedeals.com) Jimmy asked me how much competition there was at the courthouse. As the camera panned around the room, there was nobody else in the whole office except the two ladies who worked there. How many people do you think were outside bidding on foreclosure properties? The answer is hundreds.

First, let me explain some things about probate. A statistic that may shock you is this: 100% of Americans will die. That’s right, according to the Center for Disease Control, about 2.5 million people will die each year. Now here is the thing about that statistic. 70% of those folks will die without a will. Even more important is that regardless whether you have a will or not, your estate will go through probate. The only way to avoid probate is to have your estate in an entity. But ask yourself this question. If so few people even have a will, how many people do you think will put their assets in an entity? To give you an idea about how huge that is, of all the cases coming in to the court system, 24% will be probate cases. In Seattle, WA in 2003, there were more than 6000 probate cases. In Ft Worth, TX in 2006 there were about 3500. Many of those cases had real estate involved. That is where you step in. Most people don’t want to work this market because they think it is morbid. It is not morbid. The estates that I have worked with have been some of the most appreciative people I have ever worked with. I will never forget the lady that thanked me for buying her mom’s house at fifty cents on the dollar.

So why do all of these estates go through probate? The government requires it for a few reasons. First, the state wants to make sure that the assets are divided according to the will. And if there wasn’t a will, then the state takes care of that too. Most states have heirship succession laws in place that says which relatives get what percentage of the estate. The other reason that the law requires estates to be probated is to let any creditors who may have an interest in the estate know that the person has passed away and the creditors will need to file in order to get paid from the assets of the estate. The final reason that the law requires the estate to be probated is that the tax man wants to be paid. It has been said that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. With probate they both apply. Not too long ago the federal government made some changes to estate taxes that remove most people from getting taxed. But the local governments still want to get paid either estate taxes or property taxes. By forcing the real estate in to the probate courts, the government makes sure they get their fair share.

Your challenge is to find some deals in probate. You can see from the facts above that there can be a lot of motivation with people dealing with an estate in probate. By far, the easiest way to find the deals is to send some marketing to probate attorneys. There are better and faster ways, but my partner and I had to write a whole manual to explain those techniques. I simply can’t fit them all here in this limited space. But if you know that most people will not try to probate an estate themselves and will seek out the services of an attorney to help them, then obviously you can short cut the whole process by sending letters or brochures to your local probate attorneys. In some states, you can even get pre-printed labels for probate attorneys from you state bar association. That way, half your work is already done. Now you just need to come up with a good letter to send them.

When you write your letters, simply tell the attorneys in a professional way what it is you do. Make yourself out to be an expert in the field. You might say something like “I am a local real estate investor who specializes in solving probate related real estate problems.” Do you see how you just became a specialist there?

Now you know why you really need to be working the probate market, and you know a great shortcut to the market. All you need to do is go out and put it to work!!

Happy Investing!!

Brandon Lambert

Probate Court: Inheritance And Equity Law

July 14th, 2009 at 07:09am Under Probate Law

Probate court is a specialized court which mainly attends to matters regarding the estate of a person who has died. Depending on the state in which you reside, this type of court might also be referred to as Orphans Court, Court of Equity, Court of Ordinary or Surrogate Court.
The primary function of Probate Court is to make certain the assets of the decedent are properly disbursed to beneficiaries. A probate judge oversees the estate to enforce directives left by the decedent in their Last Will and Testament.
If a person dies Intestate (without leaving a Will), the probate judge assigns someone to administer the estate. Typically, this is a family member. However, in cases where no family members exist or cannot be located, the judge can authorize a court appointed estate executor.
Probate courts came into existence in the United State in 1784, with the first court established in Massachusetts. While several amendments have been made to the Constitution in regard to the authority of probate court, its main function has always been to provide distribution of assets and enforce equity law.
Equity law refers to any order which directs an individual to act or refrain from acting. The difference between equity law and laws regulated by courts of law is that court regulated laws pertain to legal doctrines or statutes, while equity laws are regulated by general guides known as “maxims of equity.”
Within the United States, probate laws are regulated by each individual state. Although these laws vary from state to state, the vast majority require a decedent’s estate to be overseen by an appointed estate executor or administrator. Estate executors are responsible for filing necessary documents including inventory, accounting and tax forms and the distribution of probatable assets to beneficiaries and heirs.
In addition to estate administration, probate courts oversee cases which require the enforcement of equity law. Common equity law cases include the institution of guardianship for an individual found to be incompetent of handling their affairs. Probate courts also oversee involuntary commitment of mentally ill patients to a state hospital.
Adoptions are oftentimes handled through the probate court system. Generally, individuals who engage in the adoption of a minor child are assigned an Assessor who will visit the home and gather information about the adoptive parents and living conditions. In most states it is mandatory for adoptive parents to appear in Probate Court for the final hearing.
Oftentimes, birth certificates are kept on file through the Probate Court. Depending on the state and jurisdiction of the probate court, individuals seeking information about unrecorded births, lost or destroyed birth certificates, or certificates which have not been properly or accurately files must contact the Probate Court to obtain or change information.
Probate courts also oversee applications for legal changes of name and marriage licenses. Typically, there is a nominal fee charged at filing and the process usually takes four to six weeks.
Last, but not least, probate courts oversee civil actions relating to probate including contesting of a Will, determination of beneficiaries, and presumption of death. Although most cases presented in probate court do not require a jury, civil action cases typically require a jury trial for proper disposition.