Best Certified Public Accountants in Falls Church, VA

The duration of the probate process is subject to lots of different variables, but a general rule of thumb is approximately six months. However, you should be aware that it can and frequently does takes far longer. Some of the matters that can delay the completion of the process (among others) can include:

While there is usually no legal requirement to use a probate lawyer, probate is a rather formalistic procedure. One minor omission, one failure to send Great Aunt Maggie a copy of the petition, or a missed deadline, can cause everything to come to a grinding halt or expose everyone to liability.

It is not a requirement, but usually they are compensated. Certainly all personal expenses they incur in the management and process of settling the estate must be paid for. Typically, a personal representative earns a fee of +/- 2% of the total value of the estate for their work. This can be mandated by the courts or by law in some states and also varies moderately from state to state. Generally, this percentage diminishes as a percentage as the size of the estate increases.

Often they are, but a court is not bound by these provisions and might overrule them if there was a specific reason to do so or a justifiable challenge to the guardianship was offered by another family member or interested party. It is also possible that a different guardian would be appointed if a designated guardian was deemed to be incompetent to adequately serve in such a role or is judged to be an otherwise inappropriate choice, based on moral or other character issues. In all such cases, the decision of the judge will determine the final guardianship, but the wishes of the person making the will always be given first consideration. It is important to add this provision to a will since it is possibly the only way your wishes in this matters would ever become known.

If this is allowable in the state in question, the benefit of doing so is that the list can be changed from time to time as opposed to changing or adding codicils to the will.