Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Your husband's estate must be probated in order to legally settle his debts and distribute his assets. Although you are not required to hire an attorney, doing so would ensure that his debts are settled and property gets properly titled. If you need any assistance, feel free to give me a call.

I'm sorry to hear that you have lost your husband.

You don't need an attorney to assist you in this process, but it can be really beneficial. You will need to probate your husband's estate in order to legally gather his assets and deal with his creditors. My advice is that you do not pay ANY creditors until you have spoken with an attorney. Creditors are only permitted to go after certain assets. I would also suggest that you 'settle' with creditors, and not pay them the full amount of the debt.

One important thing to remember is that you are not responsible for his debts, his estate is. Please call our office if you would like some assistance in sorting this out.

My condolences on your loss. If his assets are less than $15,000 in total, before debts, you can do a small estate and pay his creditors. If his estate is such that his debts exceed his assets you do it differently.

You do not need to probate property held jointly or tentants by the entirety. If the assets are more than $15,000 then you need to do a regular Probate.

You can do it yourself, but you may want an attorney to assist you.

Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions

Sorry to hear about your loss. You can do it w/o an attorney, however, there are many issues that a qualified attorney in probate matters may help navigate your through.