HEIRSHIP DISPUTES

Determination of Heirship is typically part of a two step process: part one is a court order declaring exactly who is entitled to inherit the estate and part two is the appointment of an administrator to finalize the business of the estate.

The administrator gathers assets, pays debts and taxes, and eventually distributes the remainder to people the court selected in the Determination of Heirship.

While a Determination of Heirship solves your problem by providing a court order identifying you as the sole heir, it is an arduous process. For instance, an attorney ad litem will be appointed by the court to protect the interests of unknown heirs, even though you swear you are the only child. So you get to pay court costs and two attorneys, one of them whose job it is to challenge whether you are the only heir.