Understanding what is a probate in will writing?
May 9th, 2008 by ALVIN SOONG
Where do you see this?
In court documents and newspaper articles.
What does it mean?
When there is a will, the deceased’s estate or assets can be accessed by the family and descendants and distributed among them only after a grant of probate has been obtained from the courts. The estate or assets are frozen under estate administration laws in the meantime.
The objective is to make sure that an estate is distributed according to the wishes of the deceased.
If there is no will, letters of administration will substitute the term probate.
Why is it important?
The process of obtaining a grant of probate in Singapore can last from a few months to two years or more. Meanwhile, there is expenditure such as funeral expenses and other bills to be taken care of, so the deceased’s family may be facing difficult cash-flow problems. Worse still, if the assets of the deceased are not properly managed or if the estate has to pay fees while it is being managed, the overall value of the estate could fall.
Factors that may cause delays include legal complications in administering the assets, difficulty in gathering evidence and determining the full extent of the deceased’s estate or assets. These delaying factors may in turn create problems in accounting for the exact amount that each of the beneficiaries ought to receive.
extracted from Lorna Tan Straits Times Correspondent and summarised here
Alvin:
Thank you for adding value to the world with your description of probate. We can only hope upon our assets outliving us that our loved ones have our best interests in mind. You mentioned cash flow problems and rising costs if the probate estate is handled slowly. I invite your readers to visit http://probatesalechicago.com if real estate is involved in the estate and the executor wishes to sell to cover those added expenses.
Be well and again thank you for adding value.
Sincerely,
Matthew
http://probatesalechicago.com
Thank you Mathew.
We hope the best for all our fellow country mates, Im glad Im able to add value to you and the rest as well.
You have really interesting info out there on your site. Maybe we could cooperate together to provide valuable info to liven up and ease the lives of many of the readers out there. Drop me a mail if you have the time to chat.
Best Rgds
Alvin Soong