Probate is a court-supervised process that allows the heirs of someone who has died to take control of their assets. The specifics of that process vary by state. In most cases, it all begins with probating the will of the deceased. If there is no will, probate is still required to pay their debts and ensure that the heirs receive what they are entitled to.
Handling the probate process is rather difficult. First of all, it will require you to complete and submit tons of complicated paperwork. It is very easy to make a mistake and get forced to deal with delays and unnecessary expenses.
Second of all, if you want to understand better how probate works, you will have to educate yourself on the topic and do a lot of research. To make that easier for you, we prepared a short guide to probate. Once you read it, you should have a general idea of what it is all about. Check it out!
How Does Probate Really Work?
It all begins when someone dies. A surviving person needs to gather up their last will and testament if there is one to present it to the probate court. Other than that, they might have to get their hands on a death certificate. Then, that person applies to begin a probate proceeding with the court.
Once the last will is authenticated, the executor of the will is named. That person takes legal responsibility for carrying out the instructions regarding the estate left in the will. If there is no will or those named are unwilling or unable to fulfill the role of the executor, the probate court may appoint an administrator in their place.
After that, the executor or the administrator will gather and value the assets that belonged to the deceased, such as property, investment accounts, retirement assets, and other items that have value. As probate proceedings continue, creditors need to come and collect anything that is owed from the estate. Creditors might include credit card companies, mortgage holders, and contractors.
Lastly, after all the assets are gathered and valued, and all the debts are paid off, the remaining estate gets distributed between the heirs.
How Long Does Probate Usually Take?
The probate process can last anywhere from a few months to several years. It should come as no surprise, though. It all happens under the supervision of the court, which can really slow things down. And if there are any complications along the way, the process can stall entirely for a long while.
There are many more things that you need to take into account. For instance, how many heirs are there? If there are quite a few of them and they are scattered all over the country, sending documents back and forth between so many people will take a lot of time. It might get even worse if the deceased did not leave a will, as the court gets heavily involved in order to determine which heirs will receive bequests from the estate and in what percentages.
But when the personal representative of the deceased and the beneficiaries get along and the assets are not complicated, there are very few things that can go wrong. In that case, the probate process can take well less than a year.
How Much Does It Cost?
When it comes to probate costs, they are largely dependent on the size of the estate and the state in which it takes place. Keep in mind that the estate covers most of the fees. Because of that, you should familiarize yourself with the most important ones out of them all.
- Probate attorney fees vary depending on the size of the estate and the location of the probate court in which the probate is taking place. Lawyers tend to choose one of three methods to charge for their probate work – by the hour, a flat fee, or a percentage of the value of the estate.
- Executor compensation is a term used to describe the fees that the executor of the will can collect for completing their work. It can be an hourly fee or the percentage of the estate. However, the person acting as the executor can waive these fees if they so choose.
- A probate bond is sort of an insurance policy in case mistakes are made during the administration of the will. It may be refunded after the probate proceedings are complete.
It is also worth noting that reducing costs or even avoiding probate altogether is always an option. That way, you will be able to preserve more of the estate for the heirs.
The Bottom Line
While going through probate is not necessarily a bad thing, it does have its drawbacks. Most importantly, it can turn out to be really costly, especially if the deceased has accumulated a great amount of wealth. In fact, the costs can amount to 7% or more of the total estate value. Moreover, the process is completely public. Heirs might not be pleased with that as legal proceedings concerning a testament can turn dramatic and chaotic in a matter of seconds.
Luckily, you can make the whole situation a whole lot more manageable. All you need to do is talk to a lawyer and get legal advice as soon as possible. The lawyer will answer all questions that you might have, and as a result, you will be able to grasp what is going on without any issues!
