Learn how probate validates a will, settles debts, and distributes assets to heirs under court supervision. and how state intestacy laws work when there's no will.

Probate is the legal process of administering a Decedent’s Last Will & Testament (“Will”), whereby assets owned by the Decedent at death are distributed pursuant to the terms of their Will, or if ...

Probate refers to the legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person. This process can take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years, depending on several factors such as the size ...

A probate judge is an official of the county court system and a judicial official of the state who decides civil court cases that involve the probate process. Probate is the process of proving wills ...

What is a probate attorney? Probate can feel like stepping into a maze of legal paperwork, court deadlines and emotional decisions, often at one of life’s more difficult moments. Families suddenly ...

Very few people know how to manage and take care of an estate when someone passes. There seems to be an endless stream of paperwork to complete and it becomes even more complicated when you have to ...

Probate gets a bad name based on the relatively few estates that go through ugly and sometimes years-long will contests in probate courts. The article about Aubrey McClendon’s estate says that probate ...

Can You Settle an Estate Without Probate? In certain situations, it is possible to settle an estate without going through probate. Assets held in joint ownership, assets with named beneficiaries (such ...

This is the third installment of my seven-part series on major estate planning mistakes. The first two are here and here. Not avoiding probate. When an asset passes to others through a will, it has to ...