Skip to main content

Assets Uncovered after the Estate Has Closed

Sometimes, estate or trust administration appears to be all wrapped up, and the estate is officially closed or the trust is terminated. Then weeks, months, or years afterward, other assets are discovered. Now what?

Generally speaking, guidelines to distributing assets discovered after an estate has been closed encompass the following:


  • When someone dies intestate (without a will), state law determines the rightful heirs of the estate's property. Newly discovered assets will be distributed by the same formula. 
  • If the decedent died and had a will, and if the estate needs to be reopened because of additional assets, the "new" assets will be distributed according to the provisions in the will, just as the "original" assets were.
  • If the decedent passed away with a will that called for all assets to be placed in the decedent's trust, any new assets will wind up in the trust too, to be held, sold, or distributed in accordance to the terms of the trust. The beneficiaries of the trust are the rightful recipients of newly discovered assets. 
  • In many cases, the "final order for distribution" will contain a provision that stipulates that any "late" assets be distributed to beneficiaries according to the terms of the will, with no need for additional court oversight. 
It is imperative to know who the rightful recipients are to assets discovered after the estate has been closed, and what to do next. Consulting an experienced estate attorney can help you avoid disputes, potential liability, and harm to the estate. 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Questioned by the Police? - Don't Forget Your Rights

One of the special things about our country's criminal justice system is that if you are suspected or accused of committing a crime, you have certain fundamental rights. Unfortunately though, many people aren't aware of their rights, or, in the head of the moment, they forget about those rights. For instance, citizens who find themselves being questioned and in police custody may not even be aware that they have a basic fundamental right to have an attorney present any time they are being questioned by any branch of law enforcement. Truth is, having an attorney present if you are being quested is vitally important. Why is that? For one thing, an experienced criminal defense attorney can help you from incriminating yourself, can make sure that you don't answer questions that are designed to trick you, and can keep officers from asking the same question over and over again. Bottom line - having a criminal defense attorney on your side can help make sure that you don...
2 comments
Read more

Full Custody, Joint Custody, and Sole Custody - What You Need to Know

We figured it might be helpful to produce a short article that summarizes the key differences among different types of custody. Full custody: this means that one parent is granted the majority of custody time and legal rights for the child. Joint custody: in this situation, the parents can split the physical custody of the child, and then have just one of the parents handle the legal custody (and, as a result, make any major decisions on behalf of the child). More common is to have parents share legal custody and then have one parent awarded physical custody. True joint custody arrangements, in which parents share both physical and legal custody equally, tend to be rare because of the logistical and personal issues involved (scheduling, added stress, disruption of the child's routine, costs, etc.) Sole custody: this means that one parent is awarded full legal and physical custody. These arrangements are rare, and are typically only set up if one parent is deemed unfit or wh...
1 comment
Read more

Important Safety Warning from the CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision (CPSC) had issued an important alert urging consumers to immediately stop using the LayZ Board self-balancing scooters (known as hoverboards). The CPSC has evidence that the LayZ Board was the hoverboard involved in the tragic fire on March 10, 2017, in Harrisburg, PA, which took the lives of two young girls. Numerous other fires have occurred in recent years as a result of the lithium-ion batteries in hoverboards, although this is the first fire that is believed to have directly led to fatalities. The LayZ Board hoverboards were manufactured in Shenzhen, China, and more than 3,000 units were imported into the United States. Due to the fire hazard posed to consumers of all ages by these hoverboards, the CPSC is urging the public to stop charging and stop using their LayZ Board. Consumers who choose to dispose of their hoverboards should take them to a local recycling center for safe handling of the lithium-ion battery. The CPSC is also...
Post a Comment
Read more