Louisville and Kentucky Probate and Estate Administration
The loss of a family member or loved one can be a confusing time for the surviving relatives. The question of how to handle to property and assets of the estate can often result in arguments and family disputes. It does not have to happen this way. A competent probate and estate attorney can assist in getting the estate into Probate Court and having the correct person appointed as the Administrator or Executor of the estate. Call Andrew today to see if he can help you through this process.
A few of the initial important questions will be:
With this information Andrew will be able to discuss the estate process with you and give you an idea of what to expect. Once an estate has been opened it will be the job of the Administrator or Executor to collect the assets of the estate and determine what debts that the estate owes. Within sixty days of appointment they will need to an Inventory with the Court. This document will set out a detailed listing of the estate’s assets and will assign a value to each item. What to include on that Inventory, and what value to assign to the items, can bring up many questions which an attorney can help you with.
Call Andrew today to discuss the estate process in Kentucky. 502-744-3825
Special Considerations for Estates - NFA firearms - Caution
If the deceased loved one owned firearms it is important to retain a probate attorney competent in these firearm matters. There are many laws, both federal and state, which may or may not apply to particular firearms in a Kentucky estate. Of important consideration is whether any of the firearms are restricted NFA firearms. NFA stands for National Firearms Act of 1934. This federal law placed certain types of firearms into different categories and imposed significant restrictions on some of those categories. It is important to know if any of the firearms in the estate fall within these categories of being an NFA item. Some of these items would be a Machinegun, a Short Barreled Rifle (“SBR” or any rifle with a barrel under 16 inches), or a Short Barreled Shotgun (“SBS” or a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches), or a Firearm Silencer will all fall within specialized classifications requiring burdensome and elaborate federal registration. Most other firearms in Kentucky do not require federal registration under the NFA. If the estate has any of these items, or if you are unsure, it is important to contact a Kentucky Probate attorney familiar with these items and process. Andrew Gailor is the attorney whom you need to talk to about these matters.
WARNING - Possession of an NFA item without that item being lawfully registered to you can be a serious felony offense. There are very specific procedures which need to be followed to ensure that the estate’s NFA firearms are properly possessed and transferred to the proper heir. It is most likely a felony crime for anyone to take possession these estate NFA items without first being appointed as the personal representative of the estate by the Kentucky Probate Court. Contact attorney Andrew Gailor to determine the best procedure to handle NFA firearms in a Kentucky estate.
Additionally, many of these specially registered NFA firearms have very high values in relation to other rifles, shotguns, and handguns which are not required to be NFA registered. It will be important to have these items properly valued for the Probate Court process. Andrew can help with these specialized NFA firearms in Kentucky estates.