How Inheritance Advances From ProbateCash Affect Other Heirs
Most everyone who is anticipating an inheritance (or for that matter, any money due to them in the future), would prefer to have their money earlier than later. We have discussed the costs and benefits of receiving an inheritance advance from ProbateCash. For example, are the fees due on the inheritance advance acceptable based on what you need the inheritance advance to accomplish for you.
It’s an easy decision to want an inheritance advance if you need money for life’s necessities such as shelter, transportation, food and other such needs. If you need the money to renovate an estate home for sale or pay taxes on the estate home or other property, it probably makes sense to receive an inheritance advance from ProbateCash. If you have an investment opportunity or want to begin a business, an inheritance advance from ProbateCash would make sense if the return on the investment will outweigh the fees on the inheritance advance. In those situations, even a short-term deficit may make sense if the long-term investment will be successful if you received the inheritance advance, but without the inheritance advance you could not set you investment in motion. These are some of the examples to discuss and contemplate before receiving an inheritance advance.
In my experience at ProbateCash and having worked as a lawyer and businessperson with people are considering to receive an inheritance advance or some other advance or loan against an anticipated inheritance or other receivable, there is another common issue that many folks are hesitant to discuss. Fear and uncertainty about whether to receive an inheritance advance and how receiving an inheritance advance may affect other people such as family members who are also due an inheritance from the estate.
Fear and uncertainty are incredibly common and justifiable emotions or considerations people have and should have prior to receiving an inheritance advance. No matter how significant your financial needs may be, lack of certainty (which creates fear) is often an obstacle to receiving an inheritance advance that would benefit you and your family. So, let’s discuss the facts about what happens when someone receives an inheritance advance from ProbateCash.
First, how does you receiving an inheritance advance affect the other beneficiaries of the estate? The short answer is it does not. Not even a little. When you decide an inheritance advance from ProbateCash is right for you, you deal directly with ProbateCash. If you have a lawyer or other advisor, they can also deal directly with ProbateCash. If you’re like many of the people who take an inheritance advance, you may not have a lawyer or other professional advisor and that decision is acceptable and fully in your control (disclaimer: as an attorney, I always advise people to have a lawyer or other advisor at least review contract documents and make sure you fully understand the terms of the inheritance advance). The people at ProbateCash do an exceptional job explaining the terms of the contract, but it’s always a benefit to have someone who has a legal obligation to have your best interests in mind. ProbateCash has created a contract that is rather easy to understand. We wrote the contract in a way that non-lawyers can read and understand it. We also made our contract just a few pages so it should not be overwhelming. When you are ready to receive an inheritance advance and review the contract for yourself, you can then make a better decision of whether you should consult with a lawyer or other professional advisor.
Now let’s return to the question of whether an inheritance advance from ProbateCash affects the other beneficiaries of the estate and why it does not affect anyone other than you. When you are ready to receive the inheritance advance, we will send you a contract to review and, if acceptable, sign. Most of the time the contracts can be signed electronically when we email them to you. You can do all of the review and even sign the contract from your phone or personal computer. In some cases, depending on the county where the probate case is filed, you may need to actually sign the contract with a notary who we can send to your home or other mutually agreed location.
So now that you have received and reviewed the contract from ProbateCash to provide you with an inheritance advance, you will note that our contract is between only two parties. The first party is ProbateCash, of course. The second party is YOU. And only you. That means none of the other beneficiaries (usually your family members) are required to, or even being asked to, sign our contract. Why? Because ProbateCash does not enter into a contract with the other beneficiaries, unless they also want an inheritance advance. ProbateCash is only entering into a contract with you, the person who wants an inheritance advance. Since none of the other beneficiaries are signing the contract between you and ProbateCash, the other beneficiaries are not affected by you receiving an inheritance advance.
What does that mean? If, for some reason, you do not receive enough of an inheritance to receive fully repay ProbateCash what you agreed to pay, the other beneficiaries of the estate are not affected. ProbateCash does not contact them to have them pay ProbateCash the shortfall. Instead, that’s an inherent risk that ProbateCash assumes when ProbateCash agrees to provide you with an inheritance advance. The other beneficiaries are often not even aware that you received an inheritance advance, let alone whether they have any legal liability because you received an inheritance advance from ProbateCash.
Another important person to the entire probate process is the personal representative of the estate. This person may even be you but may also be a family member or even someone appointed by the judge who oversees the probate case in the probate court. That person has the legal authority to act on behalf of the estate. For example, the personal representative, usually with the help of the probate attorney who represents the estate, contacts potential creditors, determines the estate assets, sells estate assets and overall just helps move the probate case through the court system. The personal representative even gets paid from the estate for doing all of that work. But does the personal representative have to be involved for you to receive an inheritance advance? Do you need permission from the personal representative before you can receive an inheritance advance from ProbateCash?
The answers to those questions are as follows: Unless there is an odd prohibition in a Will created be the decedent (person who passed away), you never need permission from the personal representative so that you can receive an inheritance advance from ProbateCash. Although the personal representative has legal authority to act on behalf of the estate, the personal representative does not have any authority to tell you what to do. In fact, the personal representative does not even have to be consulted or even know that you have agreed to take an inheritance advance from ProbateCash until after you have received the inheritance advance. When the time comes for the probate case to end and everyone receives their inheritance after the probate judge orders the estate assets to be distributed from the estate, the personal representative is usually the person who distributes all of the money to the beneficiaries, creditors, or other parties such as the probate attorney and even the personal representative herself.
When it’s time for the personal representative to pay everyone, the personal representative will be advised that the amount you owe to ProbateCash (almost always just a portion of your inheritance) must be paid by the personal representative directly to ProbateCash. ProbateCash is just another party the personal representative must pay from the estate assets when the probate case ends. Even then, the personal representative only knows the amount ProbateCash is due to be paid. The personal representative, because she is not a part of your contract with ProbateCash, does not see the terms of the inheritance advance, including how much of an inheritance advance you received from ProbateCash and the final amount owed. Remember, even after ProbateCash is repaid from the estate by the personal representative, you may be due money back from ProbateCash depending on the terms of our contract with you and how long you had the inheritance advance before repayment.
Notwithstanding this latest blog, it’s still natural to have fears and uncertainties about receiving an inheritance advance from ProbateCash. Feel free to call me directly to learn more. ProbateCash will only make an inheritance advance if you fully understand the terms of the inheritance advance and it makes sense for you, in your sole discretion, to receive the inheritance advance.
The next blog will be about what happens if you receive an inheritance advance and if you need another inheritance advance for your financial needs.
And to learn more about the Cost of Receiving an Advance Against Your Inheritance : please read my other article: https://probatecash.com/the-cost-of-receiving-an-advance-against-your-inheritance/
