Probate Lawyer: Job Description, Opportunities, Education, Skills and Duties
Submitted by: paula
JOB OVERVIEW In the field of Law, just like in the field of Medicine, there are specializations where practice of the profession can be focused. In situations such as a deceased person will have to declare beneficiaries of his estate as well as go through the process of transferring properties and all the legalities included in it, the probate lawyer will be the one to handle this. In short, a probate lawyer is a type of an attorney who specializes in the settlement and planning of estates while the deceased person or the decadent is still living or even after death. He facilitates the probate process and is involved in the creation or drafting of wills, deeds of trusts and associalted legal documents pertaining to property inheritance.
EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE AND TRAININGS REQUIRED
It is not easy to acquire a tiltle of a probate lawyer. An aspiring candidate to be lawyer must first take a pre law degree. Pre law degree are courses that can be useful should one wants to advance to a Law school after. . This includes BS Political Science, BS Communicaton Technology, BS Economics, and many others which will vary on the state law and specific country of application. After passing a pre law degree, there is another gate to pass which is the law entrance examination which requires a minimum of satisfactory rating before being recommneded to a specific law school. Upon entering the law school, all the instruction, and the trainings will be learned. As a partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation, an on the job training wtih a certain number of hours of training on a law firm must be completed. This will also correspond to the number of cases handled and dictate how prepared the applicant to take the bar examination. The bar examination is required to obtain a license. If a candidate aspires to become a probate lawyer in specific, he has to take trainings and work in a probate law firm. There are also some states that require probate lawyers to pass a separate ethics examination.
ABILITIES AND SKILLS
The skills and abilities needed are those that are within the scope of the expertise of being a lawyer in general. It is a must that he is proficient in the language of use, and should have a very good and strong communication skills. The skills in data gathering such as interviewing and questioning are needed. Analytical thinking is also a must such that he shoud be able to consolidate and correlate events and the involved legalities in the situation. Interpersonal skills as well as the ability to negotiate with different types of individuals are also needed. In addition, so as not to get rusty with the practice, he must involve himself and complete regular continuing legal education for the maintainace of the license. This is also helpful so as to keep their skills and knowledge updated and current, and stay up to date with advancements within the field of practice.
DUTIES
Probate lawyers handle a variety of cases that pertain to the issues related to inheritance of properties of the deceased. They deal with the legal process of creation and validation of wills, the inventory and organization of the assets and liabilities with the help of the executors.
They should also ensure thalt all the outstanding debts and state taxes are settled completely. They help assign, locate or determine , and verify who is entitled to the estate and assets of the decadent. They serve as a legal representation of the client in court.
EARNINGS AND JOB OUTLOOK
The earnings of a probate lawyer can come from two sources. It can come from the salary beign recived as an employed lawyer in a probate firm, or from a self emplyed practie. As of the early 2010, the average annual salary for probate lawyers is around $45,000. The salary also depends on several factorss: the state of practice, the firm where the attorney is employed and the years of experience dictating the expertise in the field. With the growing and aging population and increasing probate cases , the demand for this service will definitely drive job growth for probate lawyers.
Paula Hiz is a researcher and a human resource specialist who helps newly graduates, job applicants and post graduate professionals be aware of the opportunities and trainings for skills and practice upgrading.
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