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Marietta Probate Lawyer on Locating Assets When a Loved One Dies

Posted by Steve Worrall | Nov 07, 2015

Marietta Probate Lawyer on Locating Assets When a Loved One Dies

Marietta Probate Lawyer

As a Marietta probate lawyer, I'm often given the responsibility to help clients through the probate process after the death of their loved one.

I can say from experience that when people lose someone they care about and then go directly into dealing with courts, they just feel completely out of their element.

However, it is my job as a Marietta GA probate attorney to educate them and un-complicate their role as the executor or trustee of an estate as much as possible, using my extensive knowledge of Georgia's probate laws and my years of experience in that arena.

One of the most difficult steps in the probate process is accounting for the deceased's assets, debts and money owed to them.

If a clear estate plan does not exist with these lists already compiled, a Cobb County probate lawyer will most likely guide and even assist the executor in searching within the deceased's county records for titles, deeds, and even judgments against the deceased.

Mail provides another useful source of information. During the first month or so after a death, the executor can be on the lookout in the mail for bills that will show debts owed by their loved one. However, as a general rule of thumb, the executor will want to continue to monitor the deceased's mail for up to a year for any other important financial information.

The deceased's checkbook and bank account records can also provide important clues. There might be automatic payments coming out for rental properties, personal loans, insurance policies and so on.

Finally the executor should look through the deceased's personal address book. Lawyers, insurance agents, bankers and financial advisors should be noted and contacted.

If you, as the executor, uncover outstanding assets, a Marietta Georgia probate lawyer like me can then assist you to create accurate accountings and help you submit the documentation necessary to stay in compliance with probate laws here in our state.

If you have questions about going through the probate process after the loss of a loved one, please don't feel like you are in this alone. Reach out to our office at 770-425-6060.  We can assist you with your legal needs.

About the Author

Steve Worrall

As a sandwich generation kid himself (caring for both children and aging parents), Marietta Georgia Estate Planning Elder Law & Probate Attorney Steve (Stephen M.) Worrall KNOWS the struggles you are facing as you raise children, balance the demands of your job, and take care of your aging parent...

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