Are the details of the estate kept private in Probate court?
No. All probate proceedings are open to the public. Anyone who has an interest can pull your probate file and examine many details of your financial life. The file will disclose an inventory and appraisal of every asset you owned at death. It reveals the name of all your creditors and amount owed to each. It lays out the names of all your beneficiaries and the amount and conditions of their inheritances. This information is often compiled and sold to those who use the information to sell products and services to vulnerable surviving family members. It can be particularly damaging if you owned a business. Your competitors will have a treasure trove of confidential business information at their finger tips in the probate file.
