Probate matters involve a wide range of life experiences, and the attorneys at Norman Hanson DeTroy can see you successfully through all of them. Out attorneys are adept at adopting a child, probating a deceased friend’s or family member’s Last Will and Testament, administering a deceased person’s estate, and establishing the guardianship or conservatorship of a disabled friend or family member who is unable to manage his or her affairs.
Probate matters can require litigation to protect an individual’s rights as a beneficiary of an estate or trust, to prove or disprove the validity of one’s Last Will and Testament, or to seek court oversight in a fiduciary’s administration of an estate or trust, and we provide expert representation before probate courts. Whether it be estate planning, adminstering an estate upon a decedent’s death, creating a trust subject to the jurisdiction of the Probate Court, or obtaining a guardianship or conservatorship, we have the range of experience you need, backed by the ability to litigate should any matter become contentious.
In the estate administration process, we represent surviving spouses, personal representatives, heirs, beneficiaries, and creditors. We provide clients with services that include preparing and filing probate applications to open an estate, advising on the decision whether to disclaim assets, preparing Maine and federal estate tax returns, and litigating Will contests.
Our attorneys also have experience serving as personal representatives of estates. Individuals and law firms from across the United States hire us not only to administer the estates of Maine decedents, but also to open ancillary estates for Maine real estate (often vacation properties) owned by decedents domiciled outside of Maine.