Probate

What is Probate? (…)

The Probate Dictionary
There are many confusing terms and commonly used phrases that are related to the probate process and estate planning in general.  Here are some definitions to help the layperson understand the sometimes complex process of probate. (…)

Wills and Probate
Wills are the basis for estate planning yesterday and today.  They were first introduced in medieval England and have been used ever since.  Modern wills provide the probate court with basic instructions of how a deceased person (decedent) wanted to distribute his or her assets and property to heirs and beneficiaries.  Everyone who is concerned about what will happen to his or her property and assets after his or her death should have a up-to-date and valid will. (…)

What Does Probate Involve? (…)

What is Probate Court All About? (…)

Understanding Probate Court
What is probate court?  Probate court is the part of the court that deals with wills, estates, and the assets that have been left behind when a person dies.  There are many probate records that are involved in the process of probate court about the people involved and about the people who lived before they were born. (…)

The Probate Process in the United States

What happens to our property when we die?  In some states, after someone dies, his or her property immediately transfers to the spouse, if he or she has one, without going through the probate court process.  In these cases, the state recognizes a married couple's property as community property and the transfer of ownership from two to one is relatively painless and quick.  However, in cases where the transfer of property does not automatically go to the surviving spouse, then it is usually necessary for the estate to go through probate, whether or not the deceased or "decedent" left a will.  If the deceased had a will, then the probate court would have jurisdiction over the estate and would supervise the process of probating the estate, which would ensure that all the debts and taxes against the estate were paid and that the remaining assets and property was distributed among the heirs and beneficiaries in accordance with the directions of the will and the laws of the state involved. (…)

The Probate Process
Probate is the process of handling the estate and assets of a person who passes away.  The probate courts make sure that all the outstanding debts of the deceased are paid and that the beneficiaries of the estate get what is left. (…)

Why Probate is Better Business Than Foreclosure
If you are trying to make a profit in the business of foreclosures, you have probably found out how hard it is.  It seems as if the market is flooded with people who are working to get a piece of that market.  In many areas, this task is almost impossible, even for the most hard-working. (…)

The Steps of Researching Using Probate

You want to research your family history and need a good place to start.  Probate court records can provide the family researcher will loads of valuable information on past history because they have been recording deaths, property ownership and transfer and other pertinent information about people for years. 
What are the steps of researching using probate court records? 
Probate comes from the Latin word meaning "to prove."  Probate is a process of authenticating a will or using existing inheritance laws to process the estate of someone who has died.  Probate laws can change from state to state, but some practices are generally followed by all states.  The probate estate of someone who died (the decedent) who left a will is called "testate."  The probate estate of a decedent with no will is called "intestate."

The first step of researching using probate court records is to determine where the decedent lived at the time of death.  You have to then locate where the probate court jurisdiction for the property involved is, and then notify that court system.  Sometimes, the names of counties might have been changed since the time of death.  For example, in Maine, parts of Lincoln County in 1760 are now parts of other counties, Waldo, Knox, Kennebec, Washington, Hancock, Androscoggin, and Sagadahoc counties in Maine.  You will use the name of the county as it appeared at the time of the decedent's death.  You can save time by using the internet or telephone to ask for the archive or files that you want.  States now often have Web home pages to assist researchers with their searches. (…)

Setting Up Living Trusts to Avoid Probate
The probate process can be intimidating to the average person and can take two forms. 
The most common form of probate is where the probate court processes the estate of someone who dies or "decedent" and transfers the assets and properties to the decedent's heirs and beneficiaries.  In most states, the will of the deceased has to be filed with the probate court,  notice of the death must be publicly posted so that creditors and other can make claims against the estate, and an inventory of assets must be given to the court.  For a time period designated by the court, anyone who wishes may challenge the validity of the will and creditors have a certain amount of time to file any claims against the estate. (…)

Researching Family History Through Probate Records
If you are beginning to research your family history, one good place to look for information is probate records.  The information found in probate records can be extremely valuable to genealogists or family historians
When family historians begin to look for information on family members who have been long dead, often they run across difficulties finding accurate information.  The names of people may have changed over time, and sometimes the name or location of the place may have changed or been moved.  For example, some parts of Lincoln County that were in Maine in the 18th century are now part of other counties in Maine, such as Hancock, Sagadahoc, Knox, or Waldo counties.  Outside of the United States, the country of Eritrea used to be part of the country of Ethiopia in Africa. 
When researchers need to find the exact location of a probate court, they can turn to Internet or the telephone in their preliminary research.  Either place, researchers can find the index of the probate records that they need for their research.  Usually, probate record indexes are stored in the archives of courthouses or on Internet websites set up by the courts themselves.  These indexes come in printed formats or as abstracts on microfilm and give the researcher lots of information, such as locations of property and phone numbers of interested parties. (…)

Reference and Research Using Probate in Maryland and Beyond
Probate records can be very useful in researching family history, because they contain documents that trace the settling of a piece of property by the executor or administrator of decedent.  The records that are in probate courts are such things as wills, inventories, petitions, renunciations, and even indentures. 
Researching probate records to find information on deceased relatives from this generation or long ago can provide the amateur family historian will valuable dates and places to complete a family tree.  Not everyone who died wrote a will before death, even if they owned a great deal of property.  People who die without a will are known to have died "intestate," (without a will).  Someone who dies after making out a will dies "testate," (with a will).  However, even if someone dies without a will, the probate records of the handling of the estate can be used to locate heirs and beneficiaries of the estate and other information. (…)

What You Can Find Out Through Probate Records
When a person dies, his or her assets will be processed through probate court, where the court will determine who receives what from the estate.  The assets of an estate are anything of value that was owned by the deceased, including cash, stocks, bonds, land, jewelry, art, cars, antiques, or any other material item. 
The probate records contain lists of all the items in a person's will as well as those things not in the will that are involved in settling an estate after a person has died.  All of these items will be distributed by the probate court. (…)

Property, Personal Effects and Probate Records

A probate court has the job of keeping and maintaining records concerning the last will of a deceased person.  The court will also determine whether or not the will is authentic or whether or not some sort of fraud has been committed. 
If the deceased person did not leave a will behind, the probate court will use the existing inheritance laws of the state to determine who will receive the property and assets of a deceased person. 
Because the probate records often exist on properties going back into the early twentieth century, people who want to research information on their families can look through probate records to do so.  Some of the information that one can use from probate records in researching a family tree are time and place of death, the family members names and any property owned by the family. 
All of this information is found in the probate records.If the deceased person did not leave a will, there will be a letter in the probate records that allowed the executor of the will to distribute the property according to the wishes of the deceased. (…)

Probate Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Probate is the process by which the estate of a deceased person or decedent is inventoried, processed and distributed to the heirs and beneficiaries.  The probate process is necessary to determine who gets what after a loved one dies, whether he or she had a will or not.  However, the probate process can last anywhere from a few months to several years and incur substantial fees in the process. 

Many people want to find ways to avoid the pitfalls and expenses of the probate process. 
One way to do this is to set up a "living trust".  A living trust is where the owner of the property transfers ownership of it to a separate trust account that he or she controls.  An "irrevocable trust" is one where changes cannot be made after the trust is originally set up; a "revocable trust" is the opposite, where changes in the trust can be made at any time.  Upon the owner's death, the person or persons named as beneficiaries of the trust will automatically retain ownership of the trust and therefore the property in it, without having to go through the probate process.  Another advantage to setting up a living trust is that while probate is a very public process, with every detail going before the court and becoming public record, the living trust preserves the interested parties' privacy.  Living trusts also can benefit the heirs by allowing for the avoidance of some of the estate taxes associated with probate. (…)

If You Live in California, This Probate Information Is for You

Probate is the process of handling the estate of someone who dies.  Probate ensures that whatever outstanding taxes and debts against the estate are paid and then the remaining assets are distributed to the heirs and beneficiaries of the estate. (…)

Using Living Trusts to Avoid Probate
People work for many years, scraping and saving, so they can leave something behind for their children and their grandchildren.  Why do they work so hard?  It's not only to have things when they are here, but to leave something behind.  Understandably, they don't want their hard-earned savings and assets to wind up as fees for probate lawyers. (…)

How To Avoid Probate With Estate Planning
When "The King," Elvis Presley died in 1977, his estate was worth an estimated $10 million dollars.  Then came probate.  After all the fees:  legal, appraisal, executor's fees, and estate tax, the Presley estate was reduced to a paltry $3 million dollars.  What happened to approximately 73 percent of Elvis' estate?  The answer is simple:  probate. (…)

Going Through Probate Without a Will

If a person dies without a will, it is called "intestate," which means "without a will."  His or her property will pass to the heirs of the estate according to the state's inheritance laws.  In other words, the state will make a will for you, if you don't make one before you die.  All fifty of these United States have statutes or laws on their books controlling this process, called probate laws. (…)