Many Americans pass away, without ever having created a will. Many others have created wills, but they do not tell their families about them. As a result, the families cannot find those wills, when they are needed. These are very common occurrences that often give children, whose parents have passed away, a lot of headaches.
Fortunately, things do not have to be too difficult. There are a few steps people need to take if they find themselves in this situation, as Forbes discusses in "Your Parent Didn't Have a Will: What Should You Do Now?"
Those steps include:
- First check to see if your parent had a safety deposit box. Your parent might have created a will and put it in their safety deposit box. It is very common for people to leave their wills there. It can be difficult to gain access to these boxes, but it is possible.
- Search around the house for a will. Check any place your parent put any important financial or legal information. You might find a will stuffed away in some old file folder at the back of a drawer.
- While you are doing this, gather all of the information that you can find about your parent's finances. This information will help you later, so you might as well get it while you are searching for the will.
- Hire an estate attorney to help you. The attorney can assist with the probate process and make things much easier on you.
The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning and probate needs. Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].
Reference: Forbes (June 4, 2018) "Your Parent Didn't Have a Will: What Should You Do Now?"
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