Limited Clients. Proven Results.

The Warrensville Heights 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.

Individual assets are assets titled in the decedent’s sole name without co-owners or beneficiary designation. Individual assets often include real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, stocks, bonds, vehicles, boats, and business interests. Individual assets can also include personal property such as artwork, collectibles, and memorabilia.

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.

Call our Warrensville Heights Probate Law Firm and get a free consultation to discuss the specifics of your probate situation.

If a loved one has died without a will, they are considered intestate. In this situation, the laws of the State of Ohio direct who gets what from the decedent. The law does not make great efforts to protect step-children. Provisions give great deference to the surviving spouse, children, and other lineal descendants.

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 Warrensville Heights 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 Warrensville Heights Probate Attorneys at Stiefvater Law to find out if we are currently taking on new clients. We are the Probate Lawyers in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, 44122.

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

Zip Codes in Warrensville Heights, Ohio: 44128, 44122, 44146