The Probate Process : Four Simple Steps

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The Probate Process : Four Simple Steps

Knowing what probate actually involves will help ease your fears about the process, one that is not always as complex as you might think.

Probate is the legal process a will should undergo to ascertain its validity before anything can be distributed to the beneficiaries. The teststor, means the person writing the will, names an executor in the will whose job is to move the will through the probate process. The beneficiaries are those people who inherit from the will.

The steps involved in probate process must be carried out carefully and in a certain order. The steps are :

Step 1: Filling

Once a will has been detected, the first step in the probate process is filing a petition with the probate court requesting that the will be probated. The probate petition asks that the executor carefully be appointed to act on behalf of the estate.

All heirs and beneficiaries shoud receive notice that the petition has been filed. This permits them to object to the petition and challenge the will. In some states,a notice of the petition should also be published in a newspaper of record as a result that the potential creditors can receive notice.

A petition is filed requesting administration of the estate if there is no will,and a notice of administration should be given to all legal heirs. The person filing the petition appeal that the court appoint them as the estate’s personal representative, a role similar to that of executor.

Step 2 : Identifying Assets and Debts

After the court has appointed the executor or personal representative, they must identify and report all of the estate’s assets and provide a valuation. The assets such as real estate, vehicles, investments, bank accounts, cash, personal property, intellectual property and pets are included.

The executor takes legal control of these assets. On the other hand, assets owned by a trust, such as living trust are not probate assets and are not distributed by the probate court.

The executor or personal representative must inform all known beneficiaries of the estate proceeding. Beneficiaries have a particular time frame in which they must file their claims against the estate. All known debts must be identified and reported to the court.

Step 3 : Payment of Debts

The personal representative or executor must pay all of the estate’s debts from the estate’s assets. Along with the pre-existing debts such as loans, mortgages, utility bills and credit cards, a final tax return must be filed for the estate and any taxes due must be paid. Funeral expenses must also be paid.

If there is not enough cash on hand to pay all credits, the executor or personal representative can sell the estate’s assets to obtain the funds needed to pay off the debts

Step 4 : Distribution of Assets

After all of the beneficiaries have been paid, if there is a will, the executor or personal representative distributes the remaining assets according to the testator’s wishes or according to the intestacy statutes if there is no will. This may need formal ownership transfers via contracts for things like real property and vehicles.

The executor must set up one trust, if the will requires establishing a trust, according to the instructions included in the will. A final accounting of the estate must be provided to the court, describing all of the assets and debts and how the property was distributed.

The entire probate process can take a few months to a year or longer, depending on the estate’s complexity and the court’s successfully wrapping up an estate through probate requires attention to detail and a methodical proposal to the steps involved.