On The Beat 10/13/20 - Crowell, Gillis & Cooper

On today's On The Beat, Bill Gillis and Elizabeth Jones from Crowel, Gillis & Cooper talks with Troy to tell us about probate.

Midday slate troy thompson: welcome to on the beat, everyone.

I'm troy thompson.

Joining me in the studio today is bill gillis and elizabeth jones from crowell, gillis & cooper.

And today we're talking all about probate.

Welcome to the show.

Nice to see you both again.

What's probate?

William gillis: probate is a process in mississippi to have your last will and testament deemed to be valid by the chancery court.

And then the court appoints an executor and administers the probate process, notification of creditors and ultimately the disposition of your assets as the will directs.

Troy thompson: all right, who's handling the probate?

Elizabeth jones: well, in your will, you're able to name an executor of your choosing.

It can be a spouse, adult child or grandchild, a family friend, just someone you trust.

And it's also a good idea to name a successor or alternate executor.

You can also name co- executors to work together.

Troy thompson: okay.

Interesting.

Interesting.

What are the main responsibilities of an executor?

William gillis: well, the primary responsibility of an executor is first to do what we call marshal your assets, gather up everything that will be administered in your estate and safe-keep it and take care of it for the probate period.

In mississippi, the probate period can be as short as 90 days or as long as it takes to administer the estate.

Typically, if you get into will contests and those types of matters, estates can go into long periods of administration, but under no circumstances is it going to last less than 90 days to give your creditors time to present a claim to be protected.

Troy thompson: okay.

Interesting.

While you were talking, i was going to ask you a question, and it was actually here.

What if my parent, for example, dies without a will, would there still be a probate process with the court and who handles this?

Elizabeth jones: well, in this case, that would be called an intestate administration.

And instead of an executor, it would be an administrator where, since there's no will, you don't have a chance to name this person, but it's usually just a family member.

And then in that case, you would need to find the other heirs.

Instead of having named beneficiaries in a will, it just goes by the heirs at law.

Troy thompson: so next of kin.

Maybe this is incorrect, but does someone who's doing that get a fee from the estate?

Elizabeth jones: they can.

They have every right to ask for a fee.

Sometimes it's waived, but they do have a right to ask for a reasonable fee.

Troy thompson: and who determines whether it's reasonable or not?

Elizabeth jones: the judge.

The chancellor would be able to determine their work, see what all has been involved in the matter, and then consider reasonable fees.

Troy thompson: interesting.

I never asked because my mother died without a will, and i don't know why, because everything else was sorted out in her life.

But as you both know, people quite often overlook the will, right?

William gillis: they do.

And it's an unfortunate thing to have happen because it does nothing but increase the cost of administration.

Because instead of the person whose will is being administered identifying his heirs, you have to get the court to determine who they are.

So it's really another step in the process called a determination of heirship, notice to unknown creditors.

Whereas if you state in your will who your heirs are, there's no need to go through that process.

Troy thompson: should you get a breakdown of costs and fees from the attorney, especially if your loved one dies without a will?

Elizabeth jones: you can.

There's usually a pretty good idea of what it might cost depending on the quantity of assets, number of family members and the complexity of those relationships.

However, it is hard to estimate.

Troy thompson: yeah, of course.

I understand.

William gillis: and troy, the way that's done is when the estate is finished, you do a petition to close the estate and discharge the executor or administrator, and you request the fee in there, both the executor's fee and the attorney's fee.

The beneficiaries have the right to object to that.

If they don't object to it, they can sign a joinder, and then the court will approve the fees requested.

But they certainly have the right to object to it, and the chancellor has the right on his own to object to his reasons for the fee.

Troy thompson: it's quite a lot involved, right?

William gillis: well, it is, and that's done to protect the beneficiaries of the estate.

Troy thompson: i understand.

Thank you so much.

Always great information.

We appreciate you both.

If you want to find out more, there it all is up on the screen for you.

Crowell, gillis & cooper, when it comes to handling all your estate and planning needs.

Back after this short break.