Massachusetts Probate Lawyer Series on Probate Real Estate Pricing Issues and Sales: Part 1 of 5

Probate lawyers in Brockton, Plymouth, Quincy, Weymouth or, for that matter, anywhere in Massachusetts help executors, estate administrators, and others with the mechanics of selling probate real estate or with probate in its entirety. Some general probate areas might include:

Having a will approved;
Probating a will;
Obtaining a court appointment as an executor or administrator;
Managing assets;
Determining an estate's liabilities;
Filing an inventory of property with the probate court;
Dealing with state and federal estate tax issues;
Obtaining a license to sell real estate;
Negotiating and paying debts of the decedent;
Making distributions to heirs and others;
Providing accounts to the court; and
Other matters before closing out the probate matter.

While individual cases may be simple or complex (depending on the law and circumstances), I've observed complications aren't usually about the law or legal procedures, but often involve people, their relationships, and their different perceptions and perspectives. I've seen this occur in many probate areas, but ofen in probate real estate matters.

Probate real estate sales can be procedurally nuanced but easily managed with proper guidance from an attorney. A probate lawyer with an understanding of both Massachusetts real estate law and MA probate courts' customs and procedures can get most people through the maze of issues, forms, and procedures succesfully. Getting people to agree on a fair selling price, however, can often be more difficult at times. This obstacle is primarily perception driven and often includes not only buyers and sellers with different price assessments, but can also include several related sellers each with differing opinions on what the asking or ultimate selling price should be. While proper advanced estate planning can help avoid some conflicts, there are other practical steps to consider when estate planning isn't in place. During a series of posts that follow I'll be discussing these in more detail.