Probate
What is it? Probate is the court process involving the re-titling of assets and distribution to heirs. Generally, a court will require that you hire an Attorney.
The probate process will either be supervised by the court or independently administered. Supervised administration involves the court at all phases of probate and is generally requested in contested proceedings. Independent administration allows a representative to administer the estate with little court intervention, usually requiring that the representative appear in court only to open and close the estate. In your Will, you can elect to have independent administration and supervision will only be required if an “interested person” (includes family and creditors) petitions the court.
Why do I need to go through Probate? If your loved one held assets just in his or her name, even if you show a financial institution or mortgage lender that they had a Will, they will not release the assets without a court order appointing someone as Executor. Further, in order to transfer real property into another individual's name it will generally require a court order.
The probate process will either be supervised by the court or independently administered. Supervised administration involves the court at all phases of probate and is generally requested in contested proceedings. Independent administration allows a representative to administer the estate with little court intervention, usually requiring that the representative appear in court only to open and close the estate. In your Will, you can elect to have independent administration and supervision will only be required if an “interested person” (includes family and creditors) petitions the court.
Why do I need to go through Probate? If your loved one held assets just in his or her name, even if you show a financial institution or mortgage lender that they had a Will, they will not release the assets without a court order appointing someone as Executor. Further, in order to transfer real property into another individual's name it will generally require a court order.