PROBATE WILL OCCUR IF A DECEDENT LEAVES ASSETS TITLED IN THEIR NAME ALONE AT DEATH AND THAT ASSET IS PAYABLE TO THE DECEDENT’S ESTATE!
Probate is a process whereby a designated Personal Representative under the decedent’s Last Will & Testament (Testate Estate) or an heir of the decedent’s estate, where a decedent leaves no Last Will & Testament (Intestate Estate), petitions the probate court to be appointed Personal Representative of the decedent’s estate. The court appointed Personal Representative is given authorization to administer the decedent’s estate through the probate court. During this probate process the Personal Representative addresses estate creditors, prepares and files the decedent’s last income and estate tax returns, accounts to the beneficiaries of the estate and makes distributions of estate assets to the beneficiaries. This probate process can take up to two years or longer.
