The term is often described as having originated in Renaissance Italy, where there allegedly existed the tradition of smashing a banker's bench if he defaulted on payment

It is advisable for settlors and trustees to seek legal advice before entering into, or creating, a trust agreement and trustees must take care in acting or omitting to act to avoid unlawful mistakes

[5] If a person without a durable power in place does not have the capacity to execute a power of attorney, the only way for another party to act on their behalf may be to have a court impose a conservatorship or a guardianship

Although relatives of the deceased frequently receive priority over all others, creditors of the deceased and 'any other citizen [of that jurisdiction]'[citation needed] may act as an administrator if there is some cognizable reason or relationship to the estate

Court Programs Bankruptcy Bankruptcy helps people who can no longer pay their debts get a fresh start by liquidating assets

Assets left to any other heir, including the decedent's children, may be taxed if that portion of the estate has a value in excess of the lifetime gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption amount

A filing is required if the gross estate of the decedent, increased by the decedent’s adjusted taxable gifts and specific gift tax exemption, is valued at more than the filing threshold for the year of the decedent’s death, as shown in the table below