Inheritance Advances Can Benefit Paralegals and the law firms they work. When the subject of inheritance advances or inheritance loans is brought up, most everyone probably first thinks, what is an inheritance advance or inheritance loan? That thought is likely prominent within the paralegal community and profession. The good news is I’m about to do a live webinar on October 10, and I will primarily address paralegals on advances against an inheritance. I hope you can watch the webinar or contact me later if you want to learn more about inheritance advances for people you may work with on a common basis. The ProbateCash webinar on inheritance advances will also be posted on the ProbateCash website.
First, what is an inheritance advance, sometimes called an inheritance loan? An inheritance advance is basically what it sounds like. It’s an advance against an inheritance to a beneficiary of an Estate that is tied up in the probate court. As paralegals probably know best, most beneficiaries of an Estate had no idea of the concept of probate or that it even existed, let alone the reasons for probate’s existence. On the contrary, most beneficiaries think when a family member has passed away, the child or sibling, or “fill in the blank,” can simply withdraw money from the decedent’s bank accounts or list the decedent’s property for sale. It is only after the anticipated beneficiary has failed to access the decedent’s bank accounts or list the decedent’s property for sale that the anticipated beneficiary learns of the world of probate.
Having learned from a bank teller or realtor that the anticipated beneficiary must open a probate to obtain the Letters Testamentary (something most people outside of law have never heard of), the anticipated beneficiary then picks up the phone to call (or today they google and web chat) a probate lawyer to start the process. If this were community theatre, we would say: Enter the Paralegal:
The beneficiaries of estates are eager to receive their anticipated inheritance. Those beneficiaries often rely on their inheritance to make rent payments, car payments, buy groceries, or other areas that require money. When the anticipated beneficiaries learn about the probate process, it’s often you or the lawyer(s) in your firm who advise them that the probate process takes many months or longer. Often, the punchline is that since your law firm is only representing the Estate, you may only be talking with the person applying for the Letters as opposed to the other beneficiaries of the Estate who (i) are anxious to receive their inheritance and (ii) less likely to be updated on the probate process.
Of course, beneficiaries of estates who are not applying for the Letters or who do not have the Letters probably do not appreciate why they cannot receive much love from the law office handling the probate. Besides the law office only representing the Estate and not the beneficiaries, the law firm does not want to spend its time speaking to people who are not their clients. The predictable result is that you have many such beneficiaries calling the law office and speaking to you, the paralegal, demanding information and a timeline for receiving their inheritance in a process they do not understand. Those beneficiaries do not want to hear about creditors, claims, potential challenges, Wills, intestacy or anything other than when is the beneficiary receiving the inheritance and how much money is the inheritance.
ProbateCash knows these facts and human nature all too well. That’s why ProbateCash began making inheritance advances to beneficiaries of estates. There is a serious need for beneficiaries who are expecting an inheritance they cannot access to receive some advance on their inheritance while the probate process slowly meanders through the probate court. So…how does this help the paralegals working for probate lawyers?
Imagine the next time beneficiaries of estates or even your firm’s client, the personal representative of the Estate, call you for an update or tell you they have a financial hardship and really need their inheritance. They can’t wait for the probate process and just have to scream at you because they have nobody else to call about how their probate is doing and when they can expect to receive their inheritance. Instead of you having to apologize for not having any new information for them, you can finally give the beneficiaries practical information by telling them about ProbateCash. You don’t have to make any legal representations or worry about liability for you or your law firm. All you have to do is tell them that ProbateCash advances money to beneficiaries of estates who are waiting for their inheritance. Having this information as a paralegal who is usually on the front lines is invaluable for the beneficiaries, your clients, and, of course, YOU.
How does the inheritance advance work for beneficiaries and are there any issues you or your law firm should be concerned about when a beneficiary takes an inheritance advance from ProbateCash? Good questions.
First, when a beneficiary requests an inheritance advance from ProbateCash, the experts at ProbateCash will talk directly with the beneficiary or the beneficiary’s professional advisor if she has such an advisor. ProbateCash obtains information about the probate case by reviewing the pleadings in the case. ProbateCash will determine that the beneficiary is indeed a beneficiary who is expecting to receive an inheritance. ProbateCash will then quickly determine whether the beneficiary qualifies for an inheritance advance based on the amount of the inheritance the beneficiary will likely receive and other issues such as claims made against the estate, possible claims to be made against the estate, encumbrance against the estate assets such as a mortgage and any other usual underwriting factors. ProbateCash may even call you to ask you for some basic information about the probate and make sure you and your office are aware that one or more of the beneficiaries has requested an inheritance advance. ProbateCash does not like surprises and wants to make sure everyone is aware of the contemplated inheritance advance.
Second, can an inheritance advance by ProbateCash to a beneficiary adversely affect the law firm handling the probate? No. Although you didn’t ask, an inheritance advance to an estate beneficiary will not adversely affect any of the other beneficiaries who do not need an inheritance advance. ProbateCash only enters into a contract with the beneficiary who receives an inheritance advance from ProbateCash. ProbateCash does not involve the other beneficiaries or even the personal representative. The only person responsible for repaying ProbateCash is the beneficiary who received the inheritance advance and has assigned a portion of her inheritance to ProbateCash in consideration of that inheritance advance.
What happens if, after the estate assets are ready to be distributed, there is not enough of an inheritance for the beneficiary to repay ProbateCash? In that situation, for instance, when the estate assets do not sell for as much money as anticipated, or there is a large creditor claim that wipes out most or all of the estate assets, ProbateCash will simply not be repaid the advance. Yes, you heard that correctly. ProbateCash provides NON-RECOURSE inheritance advances to the beneficiaries. If there’s a surprise creditor or third party claim that depletes the estate assets, causing no money to repay ProbateCash, that risk is solely on ProbateCash. ProbateCash does not seek repayment from the law firm or other beneficiaries of the estate. Because these inheritance advances are NOT inheritance loans, the inheritance advances do not have any characteristics of a loan. For example, ProbateCash does not charge an interest rate. ProbateCash does not take collateral from the beneficiary or the Estate to secure the advance. There are no monthly payment dates for which the beneficiary has to write a check to repay the advance. In short and absent fraud committed by the beneficiary, ProbateCash takes the risk of non-repayment of the inheritance advance.To recap, inheritance advances made by ProbateCash is a rather new tool you, as a paralegal and your law firm, should know exists. While inheritance advances may not be for everyone, it’s an important tool you should be aware of when beneficiaries or even the personal representative is calling you with a real and immediate need for money that they cannot access. You may even be a hero if the Estate needs money to repair the estate home for sale to obtain market price. ProbateCash makes advances to increase the value of estate assets. ProbateCash even makes advances to personal representatives for the purpose of paying their probate attorney. The process is transparent. ProbateCash even files the beneficiary’s inheritance assignment with the probate court so the personal representative, probate attorney, and even the Judge are aware of the inheritance advance. Learn more by watching the ProbateCash webinar or simply give me a call. I’m an attorney admitted to the Florida Bar and a member of the Florida Bar’s Real Estate, Property, and Trust section. Finally, ProbateCash does business with beneficiaries and estates located throughout the country
To learn more about ProbateCash, you can check out my other blogs.
