Dan Schnurbusch Estate Planning

Dan Schnurbusch Estate Planning I help families claim their rightful inheritance through efficient probate.

09/03/2026

Someone looks at the estate total and says, "It is under $40,000. We can use a small estate affidavit." That may be too quick.

Missouri's small estate process has requirements beyond the headline number. The file still needs an accurate list of probate assets, the way each asset was owned, date-of-death values, known debts and expenses, and any beneficiary designation or joint ownership.

A house, car, or bank account may take a different route. A POD or TOD designation may control one account or vehicle, while property titled only in the deceased person's name may need authority through probate.

Gather the asset records before treating the affidavit as the answer. The form describes the estate; it does not change how the assets were owned.

General Missouri probate information, not legal advice for a specific case.

09/02/2026

When a family handles a Missouri car after a death, the first question is often, "Who gets it?" The paperwork has to answer a different question first: How was the vehicle titled?

Check the title for a transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary. If there is a valid TOD designation, the vehicle may follow that beneficiary route. If the title names only the person who died, the family may need a personal representative or another Missouri Department of Revenue process.

Missouri also has a limited Form 2305 route for a surviving spouse or unmarried minor child claiming one vehicle, but that exception has conditions. The family relationship alone does not establish that the exception applies.

Keep the title, any TOD paperwork, death certificate, and information about the claimant together. A car can be a small part of an estate and still stop the transfer if the wrong authority route is used.

General Missouri probate information, not legal advice for a specific case.

09/01/2026

The successor trustee opens the trust file and gets two immediate questions: Who needs notice? What does the trust actually own?

Missouri trust administration still has a sequence. Review the trust's notice provisions, identify the people entitled to information, check whether the trust owns each asset, and preserve records for expenses and distributions. Missouri law may require notice and a copy of the trust for qualified beneficiaries in some circumstances, including duties addressed by Section 456.8-813.

A trust can keep property out of probate when the property was actually transferred into it. That does not remove the trustee's administration duties. The trust document and the ownership records need to be read together.

General Missouri trust administration information, not legal advice for a specific case.

08/29/2026

The trust schedule says "house." The recorded deed still names the person who died.

Before a successor trustee treats a Missouri house as trust property, compare the trust schedule with the recorded deed. Then check when the deed was signed and recorded, whether it covers the right parcel, and whether other assets stayed in the deceased person's individual name.

A trust controls property that was actually transferred into it. A list in the trust paperwork may show what someone intended to put there, but it does not replace a recorded deed. If the house remained outside the trust, the family may need a separate probate or title process before it can be sold or distributed.

General Missouri trust administration information, not legal advice for a specific case.

08/28/2026

The heirs all agree to sell the house. One of them signs the deed. The title company sends it back.

That does not always mean the family needs a full probate estate with Letters of Administration. Missouri has several possible routes, and the facts matter.

If the probate property falls within Missouri's $40,000 small-estate limit, a small-estate procedure may fit. If the house or total probate property exceeds $40,000 and the death was within the last year, a probate appointment with current letters may be required. If more than a year has passed and the house is the only asset, the title company may be able to prepare a simple affidavit of heirship. If there are other probate assets, the family may need a determination of heirship proceeding, which includes a court hearing.

The useful starting file includes the recorded deed, date of death, value of the probate property, and a list of other assets. The route to closing depends on that information.

General Missouri probate information, not legal advice for a specific case.

08/27/2026

A family may think that no will means there is no clear process. Missouri law supplies default rules for who may inherit, but the estate still has to be sorted out.

Start by identifying the possible heirs, then check how each asset was owned and what debts need to be addressed. The next step may be a probate proceeding, a small estate affidavit, or another transfer process.

A house or bank account in the deceased person's name may require court-issued authority before it can be transferred. A POD or TOD designation, joint ownership, trust, or beneficiary deed may control one asset without answering the rest of the estate questions.

The family relationship answers one part of the problem. The titles and account records answer another.

General Missouri probate information, not legal advice for a specific case.

08/26/2026

Someone finds a beneficiary deed and assumes the house is now clear of everything. The deed may change how title passes after death, but it does not erase the mortgage.

For a Missouri house, compare the recorded beneficiary deed with the current deed and the lender's records. The beneficiary may take the property subject to the existing loan and liens. Payments, insurance, and the lender's transfer requirements still have to be addressed.

The deed also needs to have been properly signed and recorded before death. If it was never recorded, or if it does not cover the property, the family may need a different title or probate process.

Keep the deed and mortgage records together. The title documents usually tell you which path applies.

General Missouri probate information, not legal advice for a specific case.

08/25/2026

The family has the death certificate, so someone should be able to close the bank account. That assumption can stop the process at the bank window.

A death certificate proves the death. It does not show who has authority to act for a Missouri estate. If the account was in the deceased person's individual name, the bank may ask for Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, or other paperwork that fits the way the asset was owned.

Before treating an account, house, or car as ready to transfer, check the account registration, title, deed, will, and any POD or TOD designation. Those records determine whether the asset goes through probate or follows another route.

General Missouri probate information, not legal advice for a specific case.

08/21/2026

The probate estate is nearly finished when an old bank statement turns up in a desk drawer. The account was still in the deceased person's individual name.

That discovery does not automatically make the money available for distribution. The personal representative needs to confirm how the account was owned, its value at the date of death, and whether the account was covered by a beneficiary designation or another transfer method. The estate's debts and prior filings may matter too.

A late-discovered asset can require additional probate or transfer work, even when the family thought the file was done. Keep the statement and related account records with the estate paperwork before anyone moves the money.

General Missouri probate information, not legal advice for a specific case.

08/20/2026

The successor trustee pays a trust expense from a personal checking account. A week later, the records are hard to sort out.

Missouri trust administration works better when trust money stays separate from the trustee's personal money. Keep a separate account, save receipts, and record why an expense was paid. The trust document and the facts determine which expenses the trust should cover.

Mixing the money can make a simple administration harder to explain to the people entitled to information or distributions. Clean records help show what belongs to the trust and what does not.

General Missouri trust administration information, not legal advice for a specific case.

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