Probate cases occur when the courts must oversee the distribution of a deceased person’s assets. Many estate plans include probate court to supervise the legal passing of property to heirs or beneficiaries. When the future executor of a will files a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor, it begins probate. Once a judge probates a will, the will becomes part of public record.
Lawyers can take advantage of public records in many ways during the probate process. Probate involves looking at the decedent’s real property, assets, deeds, mortgages, liens, and more. Lawyers can find all this information with a simple public records database search. Here are four ways public records serve as an asset to probate attorneys.
Inventory All Assets Subject to Probate
A probate attorney’s main job is to take a full, accurate inventory of estate assets. This includes real estate, bank and stock brokerage accounts, and money owed to the decedent or the estate. Not everything a person leaves behind has to go through probate. A lawyer can conduct a public records search using the decedent’s name and other information to find out if he or she owns assets such as stocks and bonds.
Assets may be in the form of tangible or intangible personal property. Tangible personal property includes vehicles, valuable equipment, artwork, collector’s items, computers, and other things of value that a person owns. Proof of ownership may be receipts or bills of sale, which one can find in a public records search. Intangible personal property are items such as wages, income, contracts, accounts receivable, patents, promissory notes, or royalty agreements.
Beneficiary assets, or those payable upon the death of the decedent, are also subject to probate. These assets include retirement accounts, medical savings accounts, or life insurance policies. The family of the decedent trusts the attorney to find every asset linked to the decedent that may be involved in probate. Public records enable lawyers to do this quickly and accurately.
Learn of the Decedent’s Real Properties
Real property, or immovable property, includes the decedent’s land and any property attached to the land. Real property may include ponds, roads, bridges, buildings, or anything else built or permanently on the property. A real property search is an important step during probate to discover items such as deeds, mortgages, plats, and liens. Property that must go through probate includes that which the decedent solely owned in his or her own name as well as property owned as “tenants in common.” Conducting a real property records search gives the lawyer the full picture of what the decedent rightfully owned and what to give to beneficiaries.
Discover Liens and Unpaid Debts
If the decedent owed anyone money upon the date of his or her death, these debts will come forward during probate. Part of the point of probate is to ensure that the decedent’s debts and taxes get paid.
Typically, the executor uses the decedent’s assets to pay off liens and debts and then distributes what’s left according to the will. A probate attorney will need to conduct a public records lien search to have this information prepared ahead of time. During a lien search, the attorney will gather information about voluntary and involuntary liens on the decedent’s property as well as Internal Revenue Service liens, abstracts of judgment, state tax liens, and child support liens. If the decedent owes any money, the attorney will factor this in during probate proceedings.
Find Relatives of the Decedent
The public records are an important source of genealogic information. During probate, a lawyer may need to look up the decedent’s living relatives using the public records if there is a question or dispute about rightful heirs or beneficiaries. Learning of a new family member can completely alter the probate process – especially if there is no will. A public records search can turn up family records, birth and death records, and marriage records – all of which are important during probate court. Fully understanding the surviving family members of the decedent is imperative in properly distributing the assets.
