What is a probated estate?
Although each state has different requirements for probate, generally speaking, probate is the legal process through which a personal representative or executor (depending on the state) of a deceased individual settles all of his/her financial affairs. The executor appears before the probate court and files the will for validation. He or she also identifies and arranges for the appraisal of the decedent’s property, satisfies all the decedent’s debts and taxes, and distributes assets/property as dictated in the will, or by state law if there was no valid will.
