One special area of this section of law is the will contest. Although rare, they do happen. A vital item to note is there are prompt deadlines for contesting wills and affidavits that have to be prepared promptly as well. Our office has inside...

The key issue for people with any means is – what are the tax implications of someone’s estate; and how can I make sure when I’m gone things will be distributed in the way I choose. The simpler the instrument, the better off you are....

There are two dimensions to probate. The instruments that will be probated: the will - trusts, if made, the preparatory documents (health care proxies, powers of attorney) and the actual administration (informal, formal, among other things). You need...

One of the tips I've gained over 40 years is this: If you draft a will, have the personal representative hold the original (used to be executor/executrix). Not the lawyer. The reason is because a) you may tear up your will, and the lawyer doesn't...

I call this the Lawyer's answer, because 9 out of 10 times it is what my response is to a question. "It depends". It is all relative, so it does depend on the situation - are the families of the deceased in agreement; is there a greedy in-law;...

This office seeks to focus and concentrate on probate administration, in part, because I've personally seen much delay, abuse and cost be suffered by people because of the lawyers. It wasn't me, it was Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court,...

Hello, my name is Kathy, newly appointed volunteer Marketing Director of the Offices of Alexander F. X. Matulewicz. Certainly a unique situation. We will start to post blogs of different varieties such as office news that may be important or...

There are times a resulting trust, or a guardianship, limited or otherwise, is a necessary ancillary procedure for the probate of an estate. This would be because one of the heirs is handicapped, mentally or physically disabled, or otherwise unable to...

This post may seem similar to an earlier one, but the point(s) made can’t be stressed enough in the light of what THE OFFICE is seeing out there. There is little doubt that Chief Justice Warren Burger, who, in 1976, said 80% of all attorneys are...

One of the biggest problems with the probating of any estate is ill-will amongst the family members. We have seen where siblings step in, take the ailing parent in, and proceed to convince the parent to execute a power of attorney, leading to their...