Probate is the legal process in which a person’s debts and taxes are paid, and their property and assets are transferred upon their death. Whether or not the decedent had a will when they died, probate is the legal process of the court administering the decedent’s property and assets according to the intestate succession laws of their state. Proper estate planning designed to avoid complications with probate are generally established in one of two ways – with a will or a trust. There are different types of probate, and our attorneys are experienced in handling:

• Formal Administration – in a formal administration a full petition is filed along with a formal “notice to creditors”, there are generally no shortcuts involved in the process, and the entire process can take quite some time to finish and allow the assets to be inventoried and distributed by the final court order.
• Summary Administration – a summary administration can be used in cases with assets totaling less than $75,000 in the estate, and typically takes less time and is less expensive to file and complete than a formal administration.

The basic probate process includes collecting all the decedent’s property and assets into the estate, paying all debts and taxes owed by the estate, collecting all rights to income and dividends, settling any disputes or challenges, and distributing the remaining property and assets to the decedent’s heirs.