Estate planning is a highly specialized area of law. When searching for an estate attorney, you must be looking for someone who has years of experience and the expertise to give you the legal service you need for your estate. A reputable attorney will be competent and thorough, making sure there are no mistakes that can be detrimental to your heirs’ inheritance. Anyone can draft a will, but only an experienced estate lawyer can write and execute a will that will not be the subject of confusion or differing opinions. With an expert estate lawyer, your will be written in a way that leaves no room for varying degrees of legal interpretation. The attorney will guide you in making sure all your assets are accounted for and that they are placed into the correct accounts at the proper time.

Finding the right estate attorney can be challenging. A quick look in the phone book will reveal an overwhelming amount of attorneys who are advertising themselves as experts in estate law. However, these same lawyers may also claim to be specialists in other areas of law, too. In most cases, a lawyer who claims to be an expert in more than a few fields of law is probably exaggerating their experience and competence. If you’re searching for an estate attorney, search for a law firm with years of expertise in real estate law, business law, corporate litigation and family law.

Instead of searching through the advertisements that catch your eye, seek out the estate’s clients. You may even have family or friends who have needed the guidance of an estate attorney. When you ask around, you may be surprised to hear the same one or two names keep coming up in conversation. These lawyers may be worth contacting, especially if your family and friends have used them with great success. If the estate attorney has worked for your family members or friends in the past, you know that they have a solid reputation and are expertly versed in the area of estate law and practice. You can also check with your county clerk’s office. Usually, the county clerk will have a list of the estate attorneys in the area who handle the estates of your county. Your financial institution may also be able to recommend reputable attorneys. Finally, contact the state bar association. They will have each estate attorney’s track record, so you can see if the lawyer is competent and in good standing.

The law of deeds has its roots in the ancient rite of livery of seisin. That ceremony served as the precursor to the modern deeding process at a time when very few persons could write. This method of transferring ownership required that the buyer and seller gather a group of local residents on the property to be sold.

All the persons would march around the boundaries of the property and then assemble at its center. Once there the seller would dig up a chuck of sod and provide it to the buyer with the local resident’s witnesses. While offering the grass, the seller would recite the terms of the transaction. Ownership was transferred when the buyer accepted the chuck of sod from the hands of the seller. While the modern deeding processes have replaced the old livery seisin, it’s easier to understand the modern process when it’s compared with the old ceremony.

The modern deeding process today, paper replaces the chunk of sod. Typically, an action is a single sheet of paper. Like the sod, a new deed is created each time there is a sale. Like the ancient ceremony of livery seisin, it’s the whole deeding process which transfers ownership. All the parts of the modern process must be completed before ownership is transferred. These elements of the modern deeding process are execution, acceptance and delivery.

Execution refers to the format, language and signing of the deed document. Many states have enacted statues which specify a form for short, simple deeds. These are called statutory deeds. While all deeds are essentially similar, there are some slight variations from state to state. For example, while some states require that the deeds new notarized effect, most states do not. Public documents relating to marking signed documents in a way which indicates that an official of the state has determined that the signatures are valid.

Thus, if a mother executed a deed in favor of a daughter, but the deed was left in the mother’s safe-deposit box until her death, the deed would not transfer ownership because it was not delivered. Further, if a deed were deliver just as security for a debt, ownership would not transferred because there was no intent to shift ownership. Acceptance merely means that the buyer indicates a willingness to assume ownership. Retaining the deed after delivery usually constitutes acceptance. In a nutshell, this is the deeding process of today!