I find that many clients have heard that the probate process can be time consuming and very expensive. In other states and counties it often can be. In Wilson County, with the proper estate planning documents in place, the process can be taken care of in four months.

You have to know what you are doing, however, to navigate this system.

Often, you can’t sell property you have inherited if the estate hasn’t been properly handled. You need Tax Clearance letters and Tenn Care waivers. You also have to insure the proper notices to creditors have run in the paper and have been mailed out.

As a Probate Attorney, I handle all this for you. The Executor of the Estate is required to bring us the Last Will & Testament and from there they help me notify the creditors. A quick Court appearance is required with myself and the Executor. After that, unless there are problems with the estate, all other Court appearances are handled without the Executor present.

If there isn’t a Will, we still probate the Estate. We appoint an administrator to serve in the same capacity as an Executor would have served. 

If you can’t find the Original Will, then we have a process for proving that the copy is the Last Will & Testament.

Losing a loved one is one of the worst experiences that we all go through. And the last thing anyone wants to handle right after that, is a complicated legal system. We understand our job is to make your life as easy as possible during this process.

Yes, complications may arise.

Someone might contest the Will or a spouse may have been written out and may now need to assert her rights. Children from prior marriages often need to be dealt with. And sometimes, there is more debt than assets and we need to do all we can to protect those assets.

All this can be accomplished through the probate of the Estate.