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Evaluating Your Estate Plan:The Estate Settlement Process

Summary

The process of estate settlement is designed to accomplish three things: determine what assets were owned by the deceased and place a value on the assets, transfer the assets to the correct people or institutions, and pay any taxes that may be due. This process may be accomplished with either a will (through the probate process) or a trust (generally done through a private process). In either case one should consult an attorney to help with the process.