The mere word "probate" can make many people feel slightly anxious, especially with so much advertising devoted to informing the public about the so-called "evils" of probate. The reality, however, is that most probate cases pass easily through the court system without event. Additionally, most people who have wills and all of those who do not have wills need to have probate process their estates. Probate can be broken down into three simple steps.
1. File the will with the probate court.
A meeting with an estate attorney is arranged for soon after the death, so that the probate process can begin. By law, wills must be filed with the local county probate clerk within a certain period of time. Once the will is filed, it will become a public document and all interested parties will be contacted. For example, any beneficiaries of the will be notified by mail of their inclusion in the will. This is an important step, since the opportunity for interested parties to contest the will may be limited in time; usually it must occur during the probate process.
Concurrently with the filing of the will in probate court, a notice will be prepared by your estate attorney to appear in a local newspaper for a certain period of time that invites any potential creditors for the estate to come forward with any claims.
2. The personal representative, or executor, of the will is named. The main job of the personal representative includes overseeing the estate during the probate process. Some of these duties involve the following:
- Performing an inventory of the assets of the estate. For example, real estate, vehicles, furniture, art, jewelry, bank accounts, investment accounts, etc. Often, a professional appraiser is required by the probate court to evaluate and place a monetary value on any real estate in the estate of the deceased.
- Performing an accounting of all debts owed by the estate, particularly any taxes owed. Often, the personal representative is authorized to sell assets to pay the debts of the estate.
- To pay any burial and funeral expenses not covered with insurance policies.
- To ensure that the property is kept secure and properly maintained during probate.
3. Distribute the assets of the estate. Once the waiting period for creditors to come forward has expired and the will has been fully processed by the probate court, a final petition will be issued that contains a full accounting of all monies spent by the personal representative. The responsibility of ensuring that all beneficiaries of the estate receive their assets falls on the shoulders of the personal representative. At this point, most beneficiaries are officially notified of their inheritance with the final petition for probate and provided with instructions for taking possession of those assets. This normally involves presenting a copy of the probated will and having the ownership changed with car titles and real estate deeds. Other property is simply handed over.
For more information about the probate process, talk to an estate attorney like Linn Schisel & DeMarco Attorneys At Law as soon as possible.
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