Trusts Attorney Las Vegas | What Ways Can We Legally Protect You?
Hello, and welcome to the trusted podcast. We’ve got a little bit different setup today cause we’re actually in the office, which is great instead of having to meet, um, over video conference. And today we’ve got special guests, we’ve got the newest member of the trusted team, uh, Luke Smith. He is, uh, an attorney here in Las Vegas and he, uh, has also, uh, been a clerk for the probate judge. So that’s what we’re gonna be talking today about is probate court and what that all looks like. So Luke, welcome to the show. And uh, why don’t you start by giving us a little bit of background about yourself? Well, uh, born and raised here in seeing Las Vegas area and graduate of Green Valley high school left for a number of years to go get my undergraduate degree at BYU before sending return back to you will be for a law school where I worked for commissioner Yamashita with the Trusts Attorney Las Vegas.
I got exposed to the probate court and saw that really at the end of the day tax rules, everything. So I’m actively getting my LLM, my master’s degree in taxation to better help both plenty aspects as the tax aspects of that. And just happy to be, to work lots, to learn every day. Awesome. Well, let’s, uh, let’s start with, give me a brief overview of what probate court is for our listeners who don’t know what that is, um, you know, with the different tiers and all of that and, um, just kind of how it all works. So probate is either where something went really, really wrong, or there was no plan, to begin with. Basically, the state of Nevada will say when someone died and there’s no will, there’s no plan in place. This is where the state says, this is how your assets are going to be distributed.
And, uh, you don’t really get to say any much past that. Uh, there’s a couple of different levels depending on what the net value of the assets offer. The lowest tier is $25,000, just a simple affidavit. You’re in, you’re out, you’re on your way. There is summary administration, which is if you’ve got a hundred thousand dollars or more, but less than 300,000, and your general administration, anything over 300,000, uh, has a full football club probate. Uh, there is a set-aside provision which is between that sweet spot at 25 to a hundred thousand. But basically, it’s depending on what the value of the assets are, according to different procedures and mechanisms to say, this is how we’re going to distribute all of your states, because either one, you didn’t have an estate plan or two whatever state plan you had has been thrown out of whack. So far sideways with, you know, will challenge or what it might be that we’re happy to be in the court to settle those things, rather than doing it through a trust with our Trusts Attorney Las Vegas, which is the conventional way. Awesome. So, uh, I think the biggest question I have is what is it like behind the scenes with your Trusts Attorney Las Vegas, in a courthouse, working with the judge, you know, the day-to-day stuff that we don’t, uh, as attorneys get to see, you know, we, we need to go see him in court. We might have a phone call I’m with the judge, but that’s
About it. What’s, what’s the inner work you’d like. So the inner workings, I’d say the overwhelming majority is a very matter of routine. You know, there’s not a lot of people contesting. It’s just a matter of following the steps, following the procedures and just going through a kind of following what the statutes have laid out in NRX and a matter of by statute. And so most of it is just more the step spa, no. Okay. Working with the party to say, let’s follow these steps. This is the next thing we have to do because probate is very much a procedural. You have to follow it step by step by step. And so most of it, uh, you know, you could say it is a boring procedural process. Um, but the stuff that gets fun and exciting is when you have to go to court for one reason or another, that’s when the judge involved, not just as an overseer, but now as a giver of opinion to say, well, this is what I think this is what’s going to happen and getting involved in hearing out all sides with your Trusts Attorney Las Vegas.
Sorry. Okay. What, uh, do you have any crazy experiences of, or a good story from, uh, commissioner Yamashita? Yeah. Just that you never know what you’re going to get on the day I’m going to give in court. Yeah. There was one time a woman flew in from out of state. Um, I hadn’t filed any of this petition. This was a long, long going case. Probate has gone for a number of years already. So, you know, another thing, you know, probate sometimes six to nine months, sometimes years, depending on the complexities and all the wrenches and all the nuances that get thrown in there. Uh, anyway, I have a woman who flew in from out of state who we knew was coming into the courtroom, but she filed no paperwork and nothing. And then waited. And at the very end was, Hey, I want to file these claims. I want to do this for the best Trusts Attorney Las Vegas. And it’s on all the way to be heard, but I filed none of the procedures.
And so well, what do you do with the person who was very emotional and very much wants to be involved, but hasn’t followed any of the steps that they need to follow. Jesus. Well, your hands are tied from a kind of, from the court’s perspective, but the human side says, well, we care about this lady and we want to get her on the right path with us for the top Trusts Attorney Las Vegas. So let’s point her in the right direction and say, look, if you want to be heard, here are the steps you have to say, but she’s, she’s quite flustered and quite animated because she wanted him to be heard that day, which just wasn’t gonna happen. Um, so you never know what you’re going to get in court.
That’s true. Yeah. You might even. There’s one attorney who showed up because it was the 4th of July week. He showed up in patriotic stars and stripes too. So you’re at, you’ll never know what you’re going to get there. All right. Uh, speaking of attorneys in court, what are the biggest no-nos that an attorney or even the person who’s representing themselves should not do when they are in the courtroom,
Uh, wear a suit, with your jacket. If you don’t wear your jacket, that’s, that’s a big, no, no. At least lose to them in a slightly different dress code for the ladies, but that’s okay. Um, if the judge is talking shut up and listen, never interrupt a judge ever. Uh, if you disagree with the judge, maybe read at once and then it doesn’t get you any good because the judge already has their mind made up with our great Trusts Attorney Las Vegas. That’s what the appeals process is for. That’s what you have other steps before I get into a contest with the judge, that just is a recipe for disaster.
What about, let’s see, what about other court staff? What’s your, your interactions be with other people in the courthouse or with the clerks, or do they, you get treated well or do, is it one of those things where like, Oh, you’re not the judge. I don’t care. And does the judge care about how you guys are treated?
Very much? The golden rule treats everyone with respect because a lot of times, especially on that simply procedural and administrative thing, the judge is just looking over and reviewing the work, but people doing the bulk of the work or the clerks and the court staff. So that’s your primary point of contact. So will they do it if you’re unkind to them? Sure. They’ll do their job, but are they happy about it? No. So if you want us to move the wheels, you want to have a much easier going process to where they’ll be more willing to work with. You treat them with respect, treat them with kindness. Like, Hey, will you please help me with this move? I’m sure about this. Can you explain with your Trusts Attorney Las Vegas, please explain this position a bit more? Um, just because they’re not an attorney doesn’t mean you can’t go in there and say, well, I know how the law works as well. Now you need to give them the respect that they deserve and say, Hey, will you please help me with this? I know this is your job coming to work together. What do you need from me? What can I give to you to make your job easier questions like that go a long way.
Yeah. I have found that, uh, that the clerks kind of rule the office and you know, if you’re not nice to them, when you do have something that’s a little bit iffy or you need a favor, uh, you’re not going to get it. But if you are always nice and you know, never have anything bad to say about him, you know, always think of, even if it’s just an email response, Hey, thank you for letting me know. Perfect. I will, I will get right on that and send that off so that the one-time you do need something to get through quickly or have that important question. They’ll pick up your call cause they realize, Oh wait. Yeah, he’s the one who’s always super nice to me with a better Trusts Attorney Las Vegas. So just the word of advice for any attorneys out there and also for any people who are filing on their own, uh, you know, you definitely want to be nice to those people because it will make your life a lot easier.
Conquers. The really goes a long way. And I think that’s the general rule for anything in life is actually you treat people nicer. They’re going to treat you so not, not a bad rule to live by. Um, all right. So you’ve seen a lot of attorneys in probate court. What do you think makes a good probate attorney?
Uh, so from what I’ve seen is the people who have the best command of both the law and the facts you need both, you can’t just go in and say, well, the law works like this and you haven’t really spent time with the case or this case specifics. Um, and you can’t do likewise. You can’t go in and say, Oh, I know all the ins and outs of the case, but you ignorant of the law. It’s the, really the people who understand the big picture for how everything works, start to finish. So that way they understand what arguments to make along the way. So having a full understanding and really working with your clients to understand and go to do the research, to figure out, well, what are all the pieces for a new level of Trusts Attorney Las Vegas, not just from a legal side, but what are all places where all the bank accounts, where is everything hidden? So that way, when you have a full and complete picture of all of the facts, it allows you to be in a much better position to negotiate, to leverage, and to make your arguments because you know what the end result is, you know, where, you know, for the users from about, you know, where all the bodies are hitting, there aren’t any surprises for you. You have thoroughly done your homework. Uh, when that happens, you were just that much better prepared.
And I think part of that from the practicing side is, um, the attorney will be able to disclose to you, Hey, you have a case or no, you don’t. Uh, so you know, if you’re looking for a probate attorney, uh, make sure that you give them all the information that you have, and it’s okay if you don’t have the information. Cause a lot of times you can’t get that until you get someone appointed as the administrator for the estate, but as much information as you have will make it. So the attorney can then say, Hey, all right, here’s, what’s going to happen with your Trusts Attorney Las Vegas. Um, you know, here’s what we think that the judge will say and so on. And so they can give you an accurate estimate of time of cost and what your outcomes are going to be. So I think the more clear you can be to your attorneys, the more helpful that is as well.
Yeah. What you don’t want is, you know, Perry, Mason, surprise evidence of pride witness at the very incoming end. You want to know everything ahead of time, the more, you know, I mean, really it’s the boy scout motto be prepared.
All right. Um, keeping on that track of attorneys, what, what other things outside of, you know, their, their actual legal or, or, um, case knowledge, you, what are some of the little things that you think make them, you know, good successful attorney, not necessarily just in the courtroom, but in being able to get clients and, or being someone that other people would want to hide.
Uh, I think two things come to mind. One is having a reputation for being an expert, having a reputation for knowing your craft. You can’t just like, Oh, he’s a nice guy, but doesn’t know what’s going on. Or she’s a nice lady, but it doesn’t know if you have to have a certain degree of competence first and foremost, that way, whether it’s your clients or potential clients, where the attorneys know that you are someone who knows what they’re talking about, do you have to have the reputation with a better level of Trusts Attorney Las Vegas, uh, as one that is one of competence and one of general likeability, and the second factor kind of with that of likability is saying, thank you saying followups, letting people know what’s going on and giving updates, you know, the client walks into your office. It’s can you help me? Yes, I can. And then they don’t hear anything from me for two months.
Well, I mean, sometimes it does take two months for something to happen in probate. But during those two months, rather than having radio silence to say, Hey client, here’s the, we’re still waiting on the strategy. There’s nothing to do, but you’ve given them that point of contact that says open lines, communication. I’m on top of it. It lets them know, Oh, this guy really is on top of it. Oh, my attorney really doesn’t know what’s going on. Thank you for the update. Even if it’s nothing’s changed. Uh, but that constant communication is the second thing that says that really set people apart because otherwise it just raises the question of, well, are they doing anything for me? What’s happening with case and sleep more questions than answers. And that’s not the place you want to be in. You’ll want to leave the clients satisfied that knows yes, they’re on it. They know what they’re doing. Thank you for the update.
And I think to add to that is, uh, you know, when your first interaction with them, how long it takes them to call you back, if they leave a message or how long it takes you to get an appointment, uh, you don’t want somebody who says, yeah, come, come in today. You know, unless it’s really an emergency, you have to file that day. But if they’re you’re, if they have a decent schedule booked out that tells you one that they’re successful, people are booking them. And then, you know, what’s the interaction with the office staff for a great option for your Trusts Attorney Las Vegas services. I do. Are they calling you back? Are they calling for reminders? And when you do hire the attorney, how soon do they get in touch with you or you call and leave a message? Is it weeks before they call you back? Or is it your days for, for our office?
We always have the rule of as much as we can within 24 business hours, we’re going to return your phone call. Uh, you know, so if you call on Friday afternoon, it’s going to be Monday before we get to you. But, uh, you know, we’re going to do that within 24 business hours because we understand that that’s, that’s important. That is, you know, your case, that’s your whole world at that time. So we understand you. We want to get that communication back to you. And, uh, the other thing is, um, you know, the number one complaint against attorneys, actually in any industry, the number one complained about any professionals. They don’t return phone calls for a better level of Trusts Attorney Las Vegas. I don’t know why it’s such a difficult thing, but they just don’t get it, I guess they get scared. They think it’s going to mess things up. Whatever the case may be is, is, you know, I’ve never heard of a complaint about too much followup have, you know, you might be, have a few cell guys that they, they follow it up too much, but it’s not a complaint where they raise it to the professional level. It’s just, Hey, quit bugging me. Um, and I think everybody would agree. They’d rather have the side of, you know, you’re calling me too much versus not calling me enough. Yeah, absolutely. Um, all right. Anything else about probate court that you want to let our listeners know whether it’s, you know, procedural stuff or, you know, interaction with the judge or court or anything like that?
I mean, as far as procedures concerned, it’s, uh, all of the steps, all the boxes. I think the biggest thing is to ask yourself from a planning perspective, how can I avoid this? What can I do to plan ahead of time? Because it, it costs a lot more, in the end, to go through probate court. It takes a lot longer and there’s a lot more emotions and it’s a lot more Russel rather than dealing with the feelings of
Just the grief of a loved One who’s passed. You’re now adding a compound into that exponentially. And so as much as you can do all your preparation and planning ahead of time in a trust. So that way, you know, now it’s a matter Of administration on the backend. It’s not a matter of public record and it’s just a lot smoother and simpler process in an otherwise already troubling time. Yeah, it really is probate completely avoidable by everybody. Uh, you just have to do the proper planning. And so that’s why we recommend, you know, seeing an estate planning attorney, whether it’s our office or somebody else, uh, but find somebody who is a trusted professional that uses a great Trusts Attorney Las Vegas today, who has, you know, that good reputation and, and it will make a big difference for you. I promise your family will. Thank you very much. Yes. All right. To our listeners as always, please like, and subscribe, um, let us, uh, and then reach out, let us know who you want to see on the show next so we can keep the content relevant to you. And, uh, we’ll talk to you guys next time.