In order to clarify outdated and inappropriate legal guidelines and streamline the Territory’s slow probate process, the Senate Rules and Judiciary Committee passed a bill Thursday that will adopt the Uniform Probate Code currently enacted in 19 states.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, probate, the legal proceeding in which a court determines how an estate will be divided, can sometimes take up to 20 or 30 years.  This long and arduous process has been known to deplete estates of any monies while properties stand empty and dilapidated due to years of legal wrangling.

According to Dan Gravel, an attorney with Tom Bolt & Associates, P.C. who concentrates his practice in trusts and estates and who testified in favor of the bill, the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) “will lessen the burden on courts and on families who have to navigate the probate process.” 
 Continue Reading St Thomas Attorney Advocates New Probate Code