Limited Clients. Proven Results.

The Brecksville Probate Attorneys at Stiefvater Law limit the number of clients we represent in order to provide efficient and delicate service to our clients who are suffering the loss of a loved one. Probate is the legal process through which a decedent’s estate is administered when a person dies.

Probate is a legal process that occurs when a person dies with probate assets. The probate process can be slow and expensive. Estate planning is often done to avoid probate. Benefits to avoiding probate include saving the heirs and the estate time and money, simplifying the overall process after a loved one’s death, and can ensure that the decedent’s assets and wishes are carried out after death.

An individual’s assets are considered either probate assets or non-probate assets. Probate assets are those items that must go through the probate process to transfer ownership. Likewise, non-probate assets do not need to go through the probate process to transfer ownership. Probate Attorney Robert Stiefvater will sit down with you and advise which assets are probate assets and which assets are non-probate assets.

Probate assets, among other items, consists of individual assets, tenant in common assets, Assets with predeceased beneficiaries or no beneficiary named, and assets left out of a trust. Most non-probate assets are those with named beneficiaries.

Tenant in common assets are assets titled in the decedent’s name as a tenant in common with one or more individuals. This is most common with real estate but can also apply to other assets. Tenants in common should not be confused with joint tenants or other rights of survivorship titled assets which do not require probate.

Non-probate assets include assets with named beneficiaries, including payable on death or transfer on death, joint accounts, certain forms of real estate ownership, and items left properly titled to a trust.

Get a free consultation with one of our Brecksville Probate Lawyers and get answers to your questions.

If you die without a will, that is called intestate. In this situation, the laws of the State of Ohio direct who gets what from the decedent. Typically, the law provides for the surviving spouse (if any), children, and other lineal descendants. Step-children come last and often not at all.

The law provides for many simple and not so simple situations. What follows are some example provisions from the Ohio Revised Code:

2105.02 Construction of living and died.

When, in this chapter, a person is described as living, it means that the person was living at the time of the death of the intestate from whom the estate came and that the person lived for at least one hundred twenty hours following the death of the intestate, and when a person is described as having died, it means that the person died before such intestate or that the person failed to live for at least one hundred twenty hours following the death of the intestate.

When a loved one dies the entire situation can easily feel overwhelming. Our Brecksville Probate Attorneys will take the time to answer your questions and keep you informed throughout the probate process. We will handle the legal process so you can focus on the healing process.

Call the Brecksville Probate Attorneys at Stiefvater Law to find out if we are currently taking on new clients. We are the Probate Attorneys in Brecksville, Ohio, 44141.

Cities in Cuyahoga County: Woodmere, Warrensville Heights, Walton Hills, Westlake, Valley View

Zip Codes in Brecksville, Ohio: 44141