How Form 8865 Definitions 2023-2024

Music hi, I'm Trust attorney Scott Eli Schafer from the Asset Protection and Elder Law Center. I'm also the host of Trust Talk Radio that airs every Sunday at 10 am on 101.5 FM. So tune in to the show; you're going to learn a lot about estate planning. Today, I wanted to talk about probate court. There are a lot of misconceptions out there about the probate court system, how it works, why people have to go into probate court, and what to expect when you do have to go into probate court. There's a lot of information to cover, and of course, I'm not going to cover it all in one video. But I'm going to try to break down the videos for the subject of probate into segments. So, just really quick, who and why do you need to go through probate court? Many times, an individual will pass away without any estate planning documents, without a will, without a trust, and so on. What happens is the government has to, the courts in essence, have to oversee your assets to make sure that things get administered, handled, and settled properly under the law. Also, your heirs, meaning your family, spouse specifically, the children, are provided for and protected because they're the ones supposed to get those assets. Even more importantly, the courts' concerns are that if you have any creditors, meaning any debts in your estate, such as the mortgage on your home or the bank that you have your car loan through, they want to make sure all those different entities get paid for monies that you owe to them. That money has to come out of your estate and then get paid to those creditors before your family, your heirs at law, can get the distribution...