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The Future Estate
Volume 7, Issue 3, Summer 2016
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| About My Firm
Law Office of Christopher Guest, PLLC
1001 G St., NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
703.237.3161 (VA)
703.574.5654 (Fax)
Admitted in DC, VA, MD and NY
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Law Office of Christopher Guest
A Law Office Planning for the Future
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It has been a busy time. Summer has come and it is almost gone. It went so fast that I almost forgot to send out my summer newsletter. No problem it is coming out today.
Topics include information on will contests, what is the function of an account in probate and the administration of Harper Lee's estate raises some concerning questions.
Sincerely,
Chris
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Estate Litigation - Part 1
Will Contests
 F
or most states, a majority of probate administration issues are handled by the Register of Wills or other administrative staff rather than a judge. But as in life, things are not always that easy, and judges sometimes are required to adjudicate issues that arise during probate administration. Sometimes, the issue might simply require judicial direction in solving a matter while other times it could turn into a full-blown litigation.
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Basics of Estate Planning:
What is an Account for Probate?
Last time, I discussed the importance of the probate inventory. This month I will discuss how the information gathered to create the inventory is used to create a probate account and what the account is used for in probate.
An account is essentially the balance sheet of the estate. It is much like a checkbook register that details money going in and money going out. Depending on the length of probate, a personal representative may file multiple accounts during the administration. The first account is the starting point and uses the assets, and their values, derived from the initial inventory. The first account tallies up the financial events that occur during the administration over a certain time period. The account lists all of the receipts, gains on sales and adjustments against distributions for debts and administration expenses, disbursements to beneficiaries and heirs, losses on sales and ending assets, etc. Every figure must be supported by documentation listing each transactions, asset or adjustment. For example, a distribution to a beneficiary can be supported by a canceled check or the value of an asset from a bank or brokerage statement.
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Estate of the Month:
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Harper Lee |
If you are like me, at some point in your high school academic career, you spent time reading the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Lee was a renowned recluse and it appears that her estate will be administered in a similar opaque manner. From an outside perspective, this raises some questions regarding her estate given several controversies that arose during the last few years of Lee's life.
Lee was famous for writing "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 1960. It is the quintessential American novel. It was estimated, based off of paperwork from an old lawsuit, that Lee earned nearly $1.7 million during a six-month period in 2009. That works out to about $9,000 a day. The plot and characters are loosely based on the author's observations of her family and neighbors (including Truman Capote), as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown when she was 10 years old. For over 50 years, it was Lee's only published work available.
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Disclaimer:
An e-mail, fax, letter, or phone call to or from my office does not create an attorney-client relationship. An engagement agreement must be signed by both the attorney and the client to establish an attorney-client relationship with the Law Office of Christopher Guest, PLLC
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| Copyright © 2015 Law Office of Christopher M. Guest, PLLC |
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This newsletter was prepared by the Law Office of Christopher Guest, PLLC as a service to clients and friends of the firm. It is not intended as a source of specific legal advice. This Newsletter may be considered attorney advertising under the rules in some states. Prior results described in this newsletter cannot and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter that the firm or any lawyer may be retained to handle. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case and circumstance.
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