When your loved one passes away and you’re dealing with grief, it can be especially difficult to focus on practical concerns. But one of the unfortunate facts of life is that such practical concerns are thrust on you during this time in spite of your grief. Your loved one may have had a mortgage that needs to be paid, a truck note, etc. There are funeral and burial or cremation expenses to pay.
Complicating your ability to deal with all of these expenses is the fact that many of your loved one’s assets will have been frozen when he or she died.
For immediate access to funds, you should look to see if your loved one had any of the following assets:
(1) a bank account that named you or another heir as a signatory;
(2) any assets within a trust;
(3) a life insurance policy or an annuity naming you or another heir as a beneficiary;
(4) a retirement account such an IRA or a 401(k) naming you or another heir as a beneficiary; or
(5) a US savings bond that is also titled in your name or another heir’s.
Outside of these assets, you will likely need to go through probate (technically under Louisiana law this is called a succession administration) in order to unfreeze your loved one’s assets. This is so even when your loved one had a Will, though the process is easier when your loved one had a Will.
We can help you to get through the probate process as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, and help you to resolve any disputes, which are all too common and all too tragic when everyone is dealing with grief at your loved one’s passing.