A Will allows you to designate a personal representative to handle and settle your estate and financial resources (personal property, bank accounts, real estate, etc.) after you die. If you have minor children, it is important to have a Will in order to designate who will take care of your minor children and who will take care of your minor children’s financial resources should you pass away. You can designate the same person to take on both of these roles, or your can select different people for these roles.

Your personal representative will take your Will to probate court after you die in order implement your Will. In Utah, this is generally a fairly simple process. If it is really important to you to avoid probate court, you can set up a Trust. Trusts can be harder to maintain and usually require you to have your property (your house, your bank accounts, your cars, etc.) titled in the name of the trust. Not everyone needs a trust.

Probate is the legal process for handling someone’s estate after they die. The process begins with someone requesting that the court appoint them as the personal representative (executor). The personal representative will also provide the court with proof of the deceased person’s death and a copy of their will or evidence that they did not have a will.

Next, the personal representative will be responsible for identifying and inventorying the deceased person’s property, determining the value of the property and keeping it safe, paying any taxes or debts, and distributing the remaining property to the deceased person’s heirs.

Probate involves filing documents with the court and sometimes appearing in court. A personal representative can choose to represent himself or herself through this process or he or she may hire an attorney to assist them. There is also a filing fee of $360.00 that must be paid to the court.

If you would like to know more about probate, give us a call.