What is probate and why should I create an estate plan to avoid it?
Probate is the process where the court oversees the administration of a deceased person’s estate. Both individuals who die with a will and those who do not have a will or other estate planning instrument are subject to the probate process. The purpose of the probate process is to pay any final bills and taxes out of the estate, to confirm there are no legitimate claims against the estate, and to distribute the remaining assets to the beneficiaries or to distribute the assets by statutory intestate succession if the person died without a will. Depending on the issues involved with the estate, probate can take from 6-18 months to complete. The reason probate takes a considerable amount of time is because the court takes the probate process seriously and has the responsibility of ensuring the validity of the will, identifying beneficiaries and finalizing any and all claims. Numerous court dates may be required to resolve all the issues on even a relatively simple estate. Unfortunately, th
