Probate Lawyer Las Vegas

Attorneys typically do not inform and educate their clients about probate law and procedure, or estate administration. Probate is an area of law that most people know very little about.  Your Las Vegas probate lawyer will provides your clients with a general description and explanation of probate in Las Vegas, and will even provide details to further explain as much of the process as the client needs as case administration moves forward. Probate in Las Vegas usually involves the transfer of assets of the Decedent such as title of real property or a vehicle to the beneficiaries. Probate Las Vegas also normally involves the decedent’s creditors, the filing and/or rejection of creditor’s claims, and the appointment and/or removal of administrators. Of course, all probate in Las Vegas is court supervised, and your Las Vegas probate lawyer, will vigorously represent your interests.

When a family member dies, or when you need assistance with an estate or trust in which you hold an interest. Your Las Vegas probate lawyer can assist you with the proper administration or representation regarding both estates and trusts. Your probate attorney Las Vegas will attend probate court proceedings, assist you in liquidating estate assets and debts, advise as to the proper distribution of assets if not specified in the will, inform of appropriate tax returns, and vigorously defend and/or prosecute your interests in will contests and other contested matters regarding probate in Las Vegas.

Affidavits of Entitlement apply only to probate estates that do not exceed Twenty thousand dollars. Probate estates containing real property in Nevada can not utilize this Affidavit to transfer estate real property to an heir or beneficiary. In addition, the Decedent must have died at least forty days prior to utilizing this Affidavit to transfer personal property to the beneficiary(ies). A certificate of death, which your probate lawyer can obtain for you, must accompany the Affidavit. If the estate assets are located in Nevada, the Decedent does not have to be a resident here at the time of his or her death. A probate attorney in Las Vegas would be able to assist an interested party with this aspect of probate. Wills and trusts are generally not issues.

Under certain circumstances, the beneficiary or interested party will have to file an ex parte petition with the Probate Court and receive an Order directing a transfer of property. Examples are assets located in a state that requires an Order to transfer, stocks or bonds that must be transferred by a transfer agent outside Nevada, and checks representing life insurance proceeds that are made out to “The Estate of . . .”. A probate lawyer would be able to assist with preparing and filing this motion in our Las Vegas probate court.

Las Vegas Probate Lawyers sometimes encounter complicated and unusual cases as the following hypothetical example illustrates. A husband and wife do their own divorce and fail to designate in writing what property each is to take from the marriage. There are two children from this marriage. Among the usual items of personal property are vehicles, bank accounts, household goods, etc. There was also a large ranch involved that was deeded fifty-percent to the husband and wife as tenants in common, and fifty-percent to the husband’s sister. Their divorce agreement is that the wife takes the vehicles and some other personal property and the husband would keep the ranch. The former wife moves from the ranch and never quitclaims her interest in the ranch to either the husband or sister-in-law. Shortly thereafter, the husband re-marries, and a few years later the husband dies. When the former wife hears about the probate Las Vegas case, she comes forward demanding her interest in the ranch.

Questions that arise and that must be determined by the probate attorney Las Vegas are: What portion of the ranch does the former wife get? A Las Vegas probate lawyer would also have to know what portion of the estate does the second wife get? Are the children entitled to anything? Will the ranch be considered as “Omitted Property” under Nevada’s divorce statutes? Are there “Equal Vesting” issues? Are there community versus separate property issues? Is the property that the first wife took approximately equal to what the husband received?

The lesson to be learned is that it is less expensive in the long run to seek the advice of a probate attorney Las Vegas to be sure your legal maters are properly handled. Estate planning Las Vegas would have resolved most if not all of the issues. Trusts Las Vegas would most likely keep the estate out of probate in Las Vegas. A Las Vegas probate lawyer could have prepared a Wills Las Vegas or trusts Las Vegas and resolved many issues. Your Las Vegas probate lawyer, has in depth knowledge regarding probate law and exceptional research skills to find answers to issues in probate Las Vegas.

Your probate lawyer in Las Vegas can assist you with this category of probate law, which applies only to probate estates that have a net value of less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000). This section of probate law permits the transfer of both real and personal property. Net estate value is calculated by taking the fair market value of all probate assets in the estate and subtracting all mortgages and liens, excluding non-secured debt. Your Las Vegas probate lawyer is familiar with this probate calculation. At least thirty days must have passed since the death of the decedent before the petition can be filed. A Las Vegas probate lawyer should prepare the Petition.

Contents of the Petition submitted to the probate Court are: (1) A detailed description of all the estate property; (2) A record of all the liens and mortgages against the estate on the date the decedent died; (3) The estimated value of the estate assets;
(4) An account of the decedent’s estate debts so far as known to the petitioner; and
(5) The names, residences, ages, and relationships of the heirs and devisees to the decedent, so far as known to the petitioner. Your Las Vegas probate lawyer should assist you with assembling these required probate documents, and preparing the petition for the probate Court.

A Set Aside Estate Without Administration requires a hearing in probate Court. Your Las Vegas probate lawyer will prepare a Notice of Hearing that sets the date and time, and gives notice to all interested persons involved in the probate estate of the hearing. The Nevada State Welfare Department must also be notified. Newspaper publication is not required in this section of probate. If the probate attorney does not mail the petition with the Notice, then the probate attorney must specifically state in the Notice to whom the estate is being set aside. This section of probate law is often complicated and problematic, requiring the assistance of a competent probate attorney in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas probate attorneys’ fees in estate matters must be approved by the Probate Court. The Court has wide discretion in awarding fees to probate lawyers in Las Vegas, but the fees must be reasonable. Las Vegas probate attorneys must file a petition with the court requesting their fees and give notice of the hearing to all interested parties. However, Nevada statutory provisions state that probate attorneys for personal representatives are entitled to reasonable compensation for their services, which are to be paid out of the decedent’s estate. The statutes also provide that probate attorneys in Las Vegas are required to have an agreement with the personal representative regarding fees and costs, although at times they fail to reduce the agreement to writing.

Ordinarily, the court will approve Las Vegas probate attorneys’ fees as requested in the petition. However, if an interested party objects to the fees or the court views the requested fees as unreasonable, the fees must be independently reviewed by the court for reasonableness based upon consideration of all of the factors set forth in Nevada Rule of Professional Conduct 155. The nature of the particular probate case in Las Vegas is reviewed with respect to the rule.

Considerations in the Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct are: (1) The time and labor required of the probate case in Las Vegas, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly; (2) The likelihood, if apparent to the client, that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the probate lawyer Las Vegas; (3) The fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services in a probate case in Las Vegas; (4) The amount involved and the results obtained by the probate lawyer; (5) The time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances; (6) The nature and length of the professional relationship with the client; (7) The experience, reputation, and ability of the probate lawyer in Las Vegas performing the services; and (8) Whether the fee is fixed or contingent.

The above explanation addresses only a small part of the rules, statutes, and case law surrounding Las Vegas probate attorneys’ fees in probate matters. Several new statutes went into effect on October 1, 2009. In addition, fee agreements between probate lawyers in Las Vegas and estate administrators are based on either an hourly rate or a percentage of the value of the estate. More on probate attorneys’ fees later.