Probate Administration and Proceedings

Probate is the legal process of settling the estate of a decedent. The steps in the probate process include collecting the decedent’s assets, paying debts and claims of the decedent’s estate, and distributing the remaining assets. A very important outcome of probate is to establish clear title or ownership to assets after death. Thus, probate provides a method of removing the decedent’s name from the title of assets and replacing title with another person’s name after the decedent’s death. The probate process applies both to assets transferred by a will (testate) and to assets transferred under state law if a person dies without a will (intestate).

Probate is a legal process that begins with a “petition” (a request) to open the estate and name a personal representative who is responsible for the administration of the deceased’s property. The next step is when an official Notice of Creditors is printed in a local newspaper and Notice of Administration is sent to other involved parties. Creditors then have a set amount of time to file their claims from the first date of publication. Then the personal representative can pay the debt and distribute the remaining estate. Finally, a petition for discharge is filed, and the estate is closed.

While on one hand, this may sound simple, probate law and the handling of estates is in fact a complex system, which presents you with multiple requirements and tasks to be preformed by the personal representative, an experienced attorney and a tax consultant. For example, an estate including only a single house and single bank account that has been left to a single beneficiary will probably be a far easier and quicker process to deal with than an estate containing multiple houses that are located in various states, and that are left to multiple beneficiaries. This becomes especially difficult if an estate includes leaving assets to a minor.