Estate Administration from Start to Finish (On-Demand)

Course Description

This course provides an overview of estate administration basics. Attendees can expect to leave with a general understanding of the probate process and will learn practice tips for evaluating client cases, helping clients gather estate information, and will receive sample documents. Bonus tips for dealing with leads that want to use do-it-yourself tools instead of hiring a lawyer.

1. Tips for client meetings. 
2. The importance of fee agreements.
3. How to locate information.
4. The difference between formal and informal proceedings.
5. What are the laws intestacy? How do they apply in an estate administration?
6. The procedure for a Determination of Heirs within an Administration of an Estate.
7. Dealing with multiple states.
8. Covid 19: What are we doing differently?

Principles

• Client in-intake and written fee agreements.
• Tips & tricks for locating estate asset information.
• Formal vs. Informal Probate.
• Intestacy – when there is no Will.
• Dealing with probate in multiple states.

Syllabus

1. Getting Started
   1. First Meeting with the Family or Client
      1. Initial Call
      2. Questionnaires
      3. In-Person Meeting
      4. Attorney Gathers Information
   2. Written Fee Agreement
2. Locating Information
   1. Tax Appraisal District
   2. Grantor and Grantee Searching in the County’s Real Property Records
   3. Ancestry.com
   4. Publicdata.com
3. Estate Administration when there is a Will
   1. Formal Proceedings
   2. Informal Proceedings
4. Estate Administration when there is No Will
   1. Venue, Survival Requirements
   2. Who are the heirs?
   3. The Application
   4. Appointment of Attorney Ad Litem
   5. Citation
   6. Hearing
   7. Certificate or Affidavit of Service
   8. Requirements when there is an Administration within a Determination of Heirs
5. Dealing with Multiple States
   1. File probate proceeding with Foreign Will
   2. Record documents from a Foreign State Probate
6. Covid 19: What are we doing differently?
7. Bonus material: Do-it-Yourself-Documents – Why I tell my Clients: Just don’t.” 

Instructor

Thais Amaral Tellawi