Many people are of the mistaken impression that if they have a Will, their Estate will not need to go through probate. This is not correct. The Will does not avoid probate; the Will merely provides the probate court direction on your wishes as far as how the Estate should be probated. This is accomplished by setting forth matters such as designation of a Personal Representative, beneficiaries, distribution and the appointment of a guardian for minors.

A regular estate will take at least eight months because that is the time period that an estate must stay open for creditor's claims, by state law. You should probably allow at least a year for an untaxable and uncontested estate to close. A small estate will be administered within 1 week to 10 days but cannot be filed until thirty days after the date of death.

No, having a will does not avoid probate. A will is a legal document that, in general, states what the person who creates the will, usually called the testator, would like to happen after death to his or her property. A will can include a nomination of the person who will be the personal representative (formerly called executor) of the estate and who is to be named guardian and conservator for the care of any minor children.

F. S. 733.101 Venue of Probate Proceedings: The venue of Probate of all Wills and granting of Letters shall be in the county in this state where the decedent had his domicile.

One approach to avoid probate is through use of a living trust that holds legal title to some or all of your property at the time of your death. The trust is a legal entity, which survives you after your death.

A probate estate is necessary to protect and conserve the assets of a decedent for the heirs, creditors, and other persons interested in an estate. The probate estate will provide for the payment of outstanding debts, the payment of taxes, and the distribution of the remaining assets to the persons entitled to receive them under the decedent's will, or by law.

When an individual dies owning property in his or her name, that property generally must go through probate. Probate is a legal procedure that establishes ownership of property in others. The probate system is designed to ensure the validity of a will, to give notice to all possible claimants of property and to resolve ownership disputes and rights. Probate courts also distribute property not covered by a will (intestate estates) according to legal defaults.

In the case of a deceased individual, probate is the process prescribed by law by which a court oversees the administration of the deceased person’s assets. Probate is designed for the protection of the creditors of the deceased, the heirs of the deceased, and the beneficiaries of any will left by the deceased.

Probate fees vary according to the value of the estate. Please refer to the fee schedule for assistance in calculating the fees.

In most cases, the person requesting appointment as personal representative (executor or administrator) hires an experienced probate lawyer to prepare and file a Petition for Probate. In some cases, the person requesting appointment will handle the probate without hiring a lawyer, as discussed above.

Yes, if the total assets left by a decedent in his name alone consist of personal property and do not exceed $20,000. The decedent may own survivorship real estate or other survivor-ship assets exceeding $20,000 in value and still qualify for this simple procedure.

While the law does not require the participation of an attorney, the probate laws are very technical, and failure to fully abide by such laws can result in catastrophic consequences. By accepting the position of "executor" or "administrator" of an estate, that individual is acting as a "fiduciary" to the heirs and creditors of the estate, meaning that he owes them the highest duty of care and fair dealing.

Probate is the legal proceeding in which a court determines how an estate will be divided. The court looks at your last will and testament to determine how to distribute your property and follows the will unless it is contested by your heirs. Probate can become very expensive if you do not have a will since the court will need to appoint an administrator. This can take a long time and cost a significant sum of money.

California law says the personal representative must complete probate within one year from the date of appointment, unless s/he files a federal estate tax. In this case, the personal representative can have 18 months to complete probate. If probate has not been completed by that time, the personal representative must file a status report to the court to explain what still has to be done and how much time that will take.

Probate essentially means to satisfy a court that a certain individual is dead and that the document purporting to be the deceased person’s Last Will and Testament is indeed such person’s valid Last Will and Testament.

No. North Carolina allows a limited amount of several types of property to pass to beneficiaries free of probate. Real and personal property owned as a joint tenant passes to the surviving co-owners without going through probate. Other types of benefits, such as a life insurance policies or annuity payable directly to a named beneficiary bypass probate. In addition, money from IRAs, Keoghs, and 401(k) accounts transfer automatically, outside probate, to the persons named as beneficiaries.