Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of
intestacy
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
in the state of residence of the deceased at time of death in the absence of a legal will.
The granting of probate is the first step in the
legal
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
process of administering the
estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
under a will. A
probate court
A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the Administration of an estate on death, administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts ma ...
decides the legal validity of a
testator
A testator () is a person who has written and executed a Will (law), last will and testament that is in effect at the time of their death. It is any "person who makes a will."Gordon Brown, ''Administration of Wills, Trusts, and Estates'', 3d ed. (2 ...
's (deceased person's) will and grants its approval, also known as granting probate, to the executor. The probated will then becomes a
legal instrument
Legal instrument is a legal term of art that is used for any formally executed written document that can be formally attributed to its author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation, or ...
that may be enforced by the executor in the law courts if necessary. A probate also officially appoints the
executor
An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used.
Overview
An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...
(or
personal representative
In common law jurisdictions, a personal representative or legal personal representative is a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of another person. If the estate being administered is that of a deceased person, the personal repres ...
), generally named in the will, as having legal power to dispose of the testator's assets in the manner specified in the testator's will. However, through the probate process, a will may be
contested.
Terminology
Executor
An executor is a person appointed by a will to act on behalf of the estate of the will-maker (the "
testator
A testator () is a person who has written and executed a Will (law), last will and testament that is in effect at the time of their death. It is any "person who makes a will."Gordon Brown, ''Administration of Wills, Trusts, and Estates'', 3d ed. (2 ...
") upon his or her death. An executor is the
legal personal representative
In common law jurisdictions, a personal representative or legal personal representative is a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of another person. If the estate being administered is that of a deceased person, the personal repres ...
of a deceased person's estate. The appointment of an executor only becomes effective after the death of the testator. After the testator dies, the person named in the will as executor can decline or renounce the position, and if so should quickly notify the probate court accordingly.
Executors "step into the shoes" of the deceased and have similar rights and powers to wind up the personal affairs of the deceased. This may include continuing or filing lawsuits that the deceased was entitled to bring, making claims for
wrongful death
Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, l ...
, paying off creditors, or selling or disposing of assets not particularly gifted in the will, among others. But the role of the executor is to resolve the testator's estate and to distribute the estate to the beneficiaries or those otherwise entitled.
Sometimes, in England and Wales, a professional executor is named in the will – not a family member but (for example) a solicitor, bank or other financial institution. Professional executors will charge the estate for carrying out duties related to the administration of the estate; this can leave the family facing additional costs. It is possible to get a professional executor to renounce their role, meaning they will have no part in dealing with the estate; or to reserve their power, which means the remaining executors will carry out the related duties, but without the involvement of the professional executor.
Administrator
When a person dies without a will then the legal personal representative is known as the "administrator".
This is commonly the closest relative, although that person can renounce their right to be administrator in which case the right moves to the next closest relative. This often happens when parents or grandparents are first in line to become the administrator but renounce their rights as they are old, don't have knowledge of estate law and feel that someone else is better suited to the task.
The appointment of an administrator follows a codified list establishing priority appointees. Classes of persons named higher on the list receive priority of appointment to those lower on the list. Although relatives of the deceased frequently receive priority over all others, creditors of the deceased and 'any other citizen
f that jurisdiction
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
may act as an administrator if there is some cognizable reason or relationship to the estate. Alternatively, if no other person qualifies or no other person accepts appointment, the court will appoint a representative from the local public administrator's office.
Probate clause
A representative example of a complete probate clause, from the 14th century (or earlier) onwards, added at the bottom of the office transcribed copy of a will is as follows, taken from the will of Anthony Bathurst, 1697, PROB 11/438:
''PROBATUM fuit huiusmodi testamentum apud Londinium coram venerabili et egregio viro domino Richardo Raines, milite, legum doctore curiae praerogativae Cantuariensis magistro custodis sive commissarii legitime constituti vicesimo tertio die mensis Junii Anno Domini Millesimo Sexcenti Nonaginta Septimo juramento Mariae Bathurst relictae et executricis in dicto testamento nominata cui commissa fuit administratio omnium et singulorum bonorum, jurium et creditorum dicti defuncti de bene et fideliter administrando eadem ad sancta Dei Evangelis jurat. Examinatur''.
Translated literally as:
This will was proved at London before the worshipful ''Sir Richard Raines,'' knight, Doctor of Laws, Master Keeper or Commissary of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, lawfully constituted, on the twenty third day of the month of June in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and ninety seven, by the oath of Mary Bathurst, relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.
Biology
A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas.
Geology and geomorphology
In geology, a r ...
and executrix named in the said will, to whom administration was granted of all and singular the goods, rights and credits of the said deceased, sworn on the holy Gospel of God to well and faithfully administer the same. It has been examined".
Etymology
The English noun "probate" derives directly from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
verb ''probare'', to try, test, prove, examine, more specifically from the verb's
past participle
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
nominative neuter ''probatum'', "having been proved". Historically during many centuries a paragraph in Latin of standard format was written by scribes of the particular probate court below the transcription of the will, commencing with the words (for example): ''Probatum Londini fuit huiusmodi testamentum coram venerabili viro'' (name of approver) ''legum doctore curiae prerogativae Cantuariensis...'' ("A testament of such a kind was proved at London in the presence of the venerable man ..... doctor of law at the
Prerogative Court
In law, a prerogative is an exclusive right bestowed by a government or State (polity), state and invested in an individual or group, the content of which is separate from the body of rights enjoyed under the general law. It was a common facet of ...
of Canterbury...") The earliest usage of the English word was in 1463, defined as "the official proving of a will".
The term "
probative
Relevance, in the common law of evidence, is the tendency of a given item of evidence to prove or disprove one of the legal elements of the case, or to have probative value to make one of the elements of the case likelier or not. Probative is a te ...
", used in the law of
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
, comes from the same Latin root but has a different English usage.
Probate process
Probate is a process of improvement that proves a
will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
of a deceased person is valid, so their property can in due course be retitled (US terminology) or transferred to beneficiaries of the will. As with any legal proceeding, there are technical aspects to probate administration:
[For the U.K., see, e.g., , ][For Australia, See, e.g., , ][For Canada, see e.g., , ][For the United States, see e.g., , , ]
* Creditors must be notified and legal notices published.
* Executors of the will must be guided in how and when to distribute assets and how to take creditors' rights into account.
* A petition to appoint a
personal representative
In common law jurisdictions, a personal representative or legal personal representative is a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of another person. If the estate being administered is that of a deceased person, the personal repres ...
may need to be filed and letters of administration (often referred to as "letters testamentary") issued. A Grant of Letters of Administration can be used as proof that the 'Administrator' is entitled to handle the assets.
* Homestead property, which follows its own set of unique rules in states like Florida, must be dealt with separately from other assets. In many
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
jurisdictions such as Canada, parts of the US, the UK, Australia and India, any jointly-owned property passes automatically to the surviving joint owner separately from any will, unless the
equitable title
In property law, title is an intangible construct representing a bundle of rights in (to) a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different ...
is held as
tenants in common
In property law, a concurrent estate or co-tenancy is any of various ways in which property is owned by more than one person at a time. If more than one person owns the same property, they are commonly referred to as co-owners. Legal terminolo ...
.
* There are time factors involved in filing and objecting to claims against the estate.
* There may be a lawsuit pending over the decedent's death or there may have been pending suits that are now continuing. There may be separate procedures required in contentious probate cases.
*
Real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
or other property may need to be sold to effect the correct distribution of assets pursuant to the will, or merely to pay debts.
* Estate taxes, gift taxes or inheritance taxes must be considered if the estate exceeds certain thresholds.
* Costs of the administration including ordinary taxation such as income tax on interest and property taxation are deducted from assets in the estate before distribution by the executors of the will.
* Other assets may simply need to be transferred from the deceased to his or her beneficiaries, such as life insurance. Other assets may have pay on death or transfer on death designations, which avoids probate.
* The rights of
beneficiaries
A beneficiary (also, in trust law, '' cestui que use'') in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example, the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the person ...
must be respected, in terms of providing proper and adequate notice, making timely distribution of estate assets, and otherwise administering the estate properly and efficiently.
Local laws governing the probate process often depend on the value and complexity of the estate. If the value of the estate is relatively small, the probate process may be avoided. In some jurisdictions and/or at a certain threshold, probate must be applied for by the executor/administrator or a probate
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
filing on their behalf.
A probate lawyer offers services in probate court, and may be retained to open an estate or offer service during the course of probate proceedings on behalf of the administrator or executor of the estate. Probate lawyers may also represent heirs, creditors and other parties who have a legal interest in the outcome of the estate.
In common law jurisdictions, probate ("official proving of a will") is obtained by executors of a will while
letters of administration are granted where there are no executors.
Australia
In Australia, probate can refer to the process of proving the will of a deceased person and also to a grant of probate, the legal document that is obtained.
There is a Supreme Court probate registry in each jurisdiction that deals with probate applications. However, each state and territory has slightly different laws and processes in relation to probate. The main probate legislation is as follows:
*
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
—Probate and Administration Act 1898.
*
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
—Administration and Probate Act 1958.
*
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
—Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 and Succession Act 1981.
*
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
—Non‑contentious Probate Rules 1967.
*
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
—Administration and Probate Act 1919.
*
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
—Administration and Probate Act 1935.
*
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
—Administration and Probate Act 1929.
*
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
—Administration and Probate Act 1993.
Application for grant of probate
Probate is required if the deceased person owned
real property
In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...
or if his or her other assets are above the threshold amount, which is usually $50,000 for major banks and lower thresholds for other financial institutions. Assets that had been “
owned jointly” (but not assets held “
in common
"In Common" is a song by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys from her sixth studio album, ''Here''. The song was written by Keys, Illangelo, Billy Walsh and Taylor Parks, and produced by Illangelo. It is a departure from her R&B sound, hav ...
”) pass automatically to the other joint owner and do not form part of the deceased estate. Also, benefits from life insurance on the deceased paid directly to a nominee is not part of the estate, nor are trust assets held by the deceased as trustee.
Applications for probate are made to the probate office in the jurisdiction with which the deceased has a close connection, not necessarily where the person died. Normally, only the
executor
An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used.
Overview
An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...
of a will can apply for a grant of probate, and it is their duty to obtain probate in a timely manner. Executors can apply for probate themselves (which is often done to reduce legal fees) or be represented by a lawyer. With the application for probate, the applicant must also provide the original of the will, an official
death certificate
A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...
(not the one issued by a medical professional), a copy of the
death notice
An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acc ...
and a statement of the known assets and liabilities of the deceased estate. The applicant may also be required to have published a notice in a major newspaper of an intention to make the application for probate.
Distribution of estate
After probate is granted, executors are empowered to deal with estate assets, including selling and transferring assets, for the benefit of the beneficiaries. For some transactions, an executor may be required to produce a copy of the probate as proof of authority to deal with property still in the name of the deceased person, as is invariably the case with the transfer or conveyance of land. Executors are also responsible for paying creditors and for distributing the residual assets in accordance with the will. Some Australian jurisdictions require a notice of intended distribution to be published before the estate is distributed.
United Kingdom
England and Wales
The main source of
English law
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.
Principal elements of English law
Although the common law has, historically, be ...
is the
Wills Act 1837
The Wills Act 1837 (1 Victc 26 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that confirms the power of every adult to dispose of their real and personal property, whether they are the outright owner or a beneficiary under a trust, by will o ...
. Probate, as with the law of family settlements (trusts), was handled by the
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...
.
When that court was abolished in 1873, their jurisdiction passed to the
Chancery Division
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...
of the
High Court.
Definition
When someone dies, the term "probate" usually refers to the legal process whereby the deceased's assets are collected together and, following various legal and fiscal steps and processes, eventually distributed to the beneficiaries of the estate. Technically the term has a particular legal meaning, but it is generally used within the English legal profession as a term to cover all procedures concerned with the administration of a deceased person's estate. As a legal discipline the subject is vast and it is only possible in an article such as this to cover the most common situations, but even that only scratches the surface.
[
]
Jurisdiction
All legal procedures concerned with probate (as defined above) come within the jurisdiction of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice by virtue of Section 25 of the Senior Courts Act 1981
The Senior Courts Act 1981 (c.54), originally named the Supreme Court Act 1981, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Act prescribes the structure and jurisdictions of the Senior Courts of England and Wales (previously known as ...
. The High Court is, therefore, the only body able to issue documents that confer on someone the ability to deal with a deceased person's estate—close bank accounts or sell property. It is the production and issuing of these documents, known collectively as ''grants of representation'', that is the primary function of the Probate Registries, which are part of the High Court, which the general public and probate professionals alike apply to for grants of representation.[
]
Grants of representation
There are many different types of grants of representation, each one designed to cover a particular circumstance. The most common cover the two most common situations—either the deceased died leaving a valid will or they did not. If someone left a valid will, it is more than likely that the grant is a ''grant of probate''. If there was no will, the grant required is likely to be a ''grant of administration''. There are many other grants that can be required in certain circumstances, and many have technical Latin names, but the general public is most likely to encounter grants of probate or administration. If an estate has a value of less than £5,000.00 or if all assets are held jointly and therefore pass by survivorship, for example to a surviving spouse, a grant is not usually required.
=Applying for a grant
=
A will includes the appointment of an executor or executors. One of their duties is to apply to the Probate Division of the High Court for a grant of probate. An executor can apply to a local probate registry for a grant themselves but most people use a probate practitioner such as a solicitor. If an estate is small, some banks and building societies allow the deceased's immediate family to close accounts without a grant, but there usually must be less than about £15,000 in the account for this to be permitted.[
]
Asset distribution
The persons who are actually given the job of dealing with the deceased's assets are called "personal representatives" or "PRs". If the deceased left a valid will, the PRs are the "executors" appointed by the will—"I appoint X and Y to be my executors etc." If there is no will or if the will does not contain a valid appointment of executors (for example if they are all dead) then the PRs are called "administrators". So, executors obtain a grant of probate that permits them to deal with the estate and administrators obtain a grant of administration that lets them do the same. Apart from that distinction, the function of executors and administrators is exactly the same.[
]
Probate requirements
A requirement of the probate process is the valuation of the estate.[
]
Intestacy probate process
For an explanation of the intestacy probate process in England and Wales, see Administration of an estate on death
In common-law jurisdictions, administration of an estate on death arises if the deceased is legally intestate, meaning they did not leave a will, or some assets are not disposed of by their will.
Where a person dies leaving a will appointing ...
.
Contesting the circumstances of a will's creation
An applicant may challenge the validity of a person's will after they have died by lodging a caveat and requisite fee at the probate registry. This prevents anyone from obtaining a grant of probate for that person's estate for six months, which the applicant can shortly before that point apply to extend. A caveat is not to be used to extend the time for bringing a claim for financial provision from a person's estate, such as under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament concerning inheritance in England and Wales. It has been amended, for example to take into account civil partnerships.
Contents
This Act m ...
. The court can order costs against an applicant using a caveat for that purpose.
To challenge the caveat, the intended executor sends a completed "warning" form to the probate registry. This document will be sent to the person who entered the caveat, and for the caveat to remain, they will have to enter an appearance at the probate registry. This is not a physical appearance; it is a further document to send to the probate registry within eight days of receiving the warning.
Scotland
The equivalent to probate in Scotland is confirmation, although there are considerable differences between the two systems because of the separate Scottish legal system
Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland ...
. Appointment as an executor does not in itself grant authority to ingather and distribute the estate of the deceased; the executor(s) must make an application to the sheriff court for a grant of confirmation. This is a court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out o ...
authorising them to "uplift, receive, administer and dispose of the estate and to act in the office of executor". A grant of confirmation gives the executor(s) authority to uplift money or other property belonging to a deceased person (e.g. from a bank), and to administer and distribute it according to either the deceased's will or the law on intestacy
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
.
United States
Most estates in the United States include property that is subject to probate proceedings. If the property of an estate is not automatically devised to a surviving spouse or heir through principles of joint ownership or survivorship, or otherwise by operation of law
The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...
, and was not transferred to a trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
during the decedent's lifetime, it is generally necessary to "probate the estate", whether or not the decedent had a valid will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
. For example, life insurance and retirement accounts with properly completed beneficiary designations should avoid probate, as will most bank accounts titled jointly or made payable on death.
Some states have procedures that allow for the transfer of assets from small estates through affidavit or through a simplified probate process. For example, California has a "Small Estate Summary Procedure" to allow the summary transfer of a decedent's asset without a formal Probate proceeding. The dollar limit by which the Small Estate procedure can be effectuated is $150,000.
For estates that do not qualify for simplified proceedings, a court having jurisdiction of the decedent's estate (a probate court) supervises the probate process to ensure administration and disposition of the decedent's property is conducted in accord with the law of that jurisdiction, and in a manner consistent with decedent's intent as manifested in his will. Distribution of certain estate assets may require selling assets, including real estate.
Avoiding probate
Some of the decedent's property may never enter probate because it passes to another person contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
ually, such as the death proceeds of an insurance policy insuring the decedent or bank or retirement account that names a beneficiary or is owned as "payable on death", and property (sometimes a bank or brokerage account) legally held as "jointly owned with right of survivorship".
Property held in a revocable or irrevocable trust created during the grantor's lifetime also avoids probate. In these cases in the U.S. no court action is involved and the property is distributed privately, subject to estate taxes.
The best way to determine which assets are probate assets (requiring administration) is to determine whether each asset passes outside of probate.
In jurisdictions in the U.S. that recognize a married couple's property as tenancy by the entireties, if a spouse (or partner in Hawaii) dies intestate (owning property without a will), the portion of his/her estate so titled passes to a surviving spouse without a probate.
Steps of probate
If the decedent dies without a will, known as intestacy
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
, with the exception of real properly located in another jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
Jur ...
, the estate is distributed according to the laws of the jurisdiction where the decedent resided.
If the decedent died with a will, the will usually names an executor
An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used.
Overview
An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...
(personal representative), who carries out the instructions laid out in the will. The executor marshals the decedent's assets. If there is no will, or if the will does not name an executor, the probate court can appoint one. Traditionally, the representative of an intestate
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
estate is called an ''administrator''. If the decedent died with a will, but only a copy of the will can be located, many states allow the copy to be probated, subject to the rebuttable presumption that the testator destroyed the will before death.
In some cases, where the person named as executor cannot administer the probate, or wishes to have someone else do so, another person is named administrator. An executor or an administrator may receive compensation for his service. Additionally, beneficiaries of an estate may be able to remove the appointed executor if he or she is not capable of properly fulfilling his or her duties.
The representative of a testate estate who is someone other than the executor named in the will is an ''administrator with the will annexed'', or administrator c.t.a. (from the Latin ''cum testamento annexo''.) The generic term for executors or administrators is personal representative
In common law jurisdictions, a personal representative or legal personal representative is a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of another person. If the estate being administered is that of a deceased person, the personal repres ...
.
The probate court may require that the executor provide a fidelity bond
A fidelity bond or fidelity guarantee is a form of insurance protection that covers policyholders for losses that they incur as a result of fraudulent acts by specified individuals. It usually insures a business for losses caused by the dishonest a ...
, an insurance policy in favor of the estate to protect against possible abuse by the executor.
After opening the probate case with the court, the personal representative inventories and collects the decedent's property. Next, he pays any debts and taxes, including estate tax in the United States
The estate tax in the United States is a federal tax on the transfer of the estate of a person who dies. The tax applies to property that is transferred by will or, if the person has no will, according to state laws of intestacy. Other transfers ...
, if the estate is taxable at the federal or state level. Finally, he distributes the remaining property to the beneficiaries, either as instructed in the will, or under the intestacy
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
laws of the state.
A party may challenge any aspect of the probate administration, such as a direct challenge to the validity of the will, known as a will contest
A will contest, in the law of property, is a formal objection raised against the validity of a will, based on the contention that the will does not reflect the actual intent of the testator (the party who made the will) or that the will is otherwis ...
, a challenge to the status of the person serving as personal representative, a challenge as to the identity of the heirs, and a challenge to whether the personal representative is properly administering the estate. Issues of paternity
Paternity may refer to:
*Father, the male parent of a (human) child
*Paternity (law), fatherhood as a matter of law
* ''Paternity'' (film), a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds
* "Paternity" (''House''), a 2004 episode of the television seri ...
can be disputed among the potential heirs in intestate estates, especially with the advent of inexpensive DNA profiling
DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding.
DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...
techniques. In some situations, however, even biological heirs can be denied their inheritance rights, while non-biological heirs can be granted inheritance rights.
The personal representative must understand and abide by the fiduciary duties, such as a duty to keep money in interest bearing account and to treat all beneficiaries equally. Not complying with the fiduciary duties may allow interested persons to petition for the removal of the personal representative and hold the personal representative liable for any harm to the estate.
See also
* Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...
* National Probate Calendar
The National Probate Calendar is a register of proved wills and administrations in England and Wales since 1858.
History
The probate calendar was created by the Probate Registry, which was responsible for proving wills and administrations from 1 ...
References
External links
* {{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Probate, short=x
Inheritance
Legal terminology
Real property law
Wills and trusts