Long Island probate attorneys represent families going through the probate process. As Investopedia explains, the probate process can take around a year or so to occur and to facilitate the transfer of wealth to heirs or beneficiaries designated in a last will and testament. The process can take even longer if there are complications that arise. 
One potential problem that could come up during the probate process: the problem of assets being left to a minor who is under the age of 18. A person who is underaged and who is not considered to be legally an adult is going to be unable to inherit directly, even if assets are left to him in a will. Long Island probate attorneys at Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC can provide help in situations where money has been left to a minor. We can explain the process and provide assistance as decisions are made about how the inheritance given to the underaged person is handled.
Our legal team can also help with the estate planning process so you can avoid leaving money to a minor using an approach that creates complications. Long Island probate attorneys at our firm can help you to go beyond just creating a simple last will and testament to select the estate planning tool that actually works best to provide for the children in your life. Give us a call to find out more about how we can help when you want to leave money to a minor.
What Happens if You Leave Money to a Minor?
If you leave money to a child, it is best to plan ahead to ensure you are able to determine who will control the money until the child reaches adulthood and is able to manage the money for himself.
Under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, it is simple to specify who will be in charge of managing assets. Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC can provide assistance with making an asset transfer under the provisions of this act. The child will be given control over assets upon reaching legal age and the person who you select to manage the funds on the child’s behalf will have a fiduciary duty to manage the money in the child’s best interest until the child can take control of his or her own inheritance.
While the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act gives you the opportunity to specify who should manage the inheritance, it still gives you limited control. If you want to do more to determine what happens to the money, you can create a trust. A trust would allow you to select a trustee to manage the money for as long as you see fit on a child’s behalf, and would allow you to provide more specific instructions regarding how the assets are used. For example, you could specify the money in the trust should be used to pay for college or that the child shouldn’t be given control over the inherited assets until graduating.
Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC can help you to decide what the best option is for transferring assets to a minor. The key, however, is to pick an appropriate approach rather than just transferring assets in a will. If you don’t make the right plans for making a gift to an underage heir, the court will have to appoint a guardian during the probate process. This can make the probate process take even longer than it normally would and it could result in someone being appointed as a guardian who you would not have chosen to manage the assets that you have provided to your underaged heirs or beneficiaries.
Getting Help from Long Island Probate Attorneys
Long Island probate attorneys at Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC can assist you in determining if you should facilitate the transfer of money to a minor by using the options in the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act or whether you should use alternative approaches like the creation of a trust.
To find out more about the ways in which our legal team can help you to determine how best to leave assets to the children you care about, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at (631) 265-0599 or contact us online to get personalized help making an estate plan that takes all of the needs of your heirs or beneficiaries into account. Call today to get your plans underway.
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