Probate 101: What You Need to Know to Conduct Your Estate Planning

Probate is the term for a legal procedure that is used to settle a decedent’s estate, when they have not taken the appropriate estate planning precautions. It is a process through which the court validates the will if one existed, appoints an administrator if there was no will, or grants authority to the executor if there is a will. This process ensures that the property is distributed, that taxes are paid and also enables the legal transfer of the ownership of the property. 

All of a person’s property is subject to probate proceedings whether or not a will exists, except for that property that is put inside a trust, property subject to a transfer on death deed, life insurance proceeds, payable on death accounts or property owned in joint tenancy with another person.