Three years! After three years, we completed the administration of a client’s deceased aunt’s estate and trust. What should have been a relatively simple administration turned into a lengthy probate. The administration was not contested but was complicated by the aunt’s lack of financial records, failure to title assets in the name of her trust, the number and variety of financial assets and the number of beneficiaries. DeAngelis Legal assisted the trustee with the identification of assets, the titling and beneficiary designation issues, opening a probate in Arizona, working with more than twenty-five different financial institutions and custodians to gain control over and liquidate the aunt’s assets and distributing the assets among the charitable beneficiaries. This should be a lesson to all on the importance of titling assets in the name of your trust and maintaining updated financial records. Start this year when you receive your tax information, and if you need help, please give us a call.
