Probate is the legal process of ensuring that a deceased person’s bills get paid and their assets get transferred to the right places. When someone dies, there must be a process and evidence showing who is to receive the deceased person’s property, and who is in charge of getting it to them.

Without some form of probate, title companies will not sign off on real estate sales and banks/financial institutions will not allow access to accounts that did not have a valid payable-on-death beneficiary designation.

Probate gets much more straightforward when you have a valid, well-drafted Will.

For a one-time flat fee, we will guide you though the entire probate process: from the initial meeting with your attorney; through the prove-up hearing; and even to preparing distribution deeds once the court process is complete.

The fee is based on whether you have the original Will or a copy; whether the Will is “self-proved;” whether it names an executor who is able to serve; and/or whether it needs to be probated only as a “muniment of title”.

In certain limited situations, an Affidavit of Heirship can be used in lieu of the formal probate process to evidence the transfer of title to real estate to a person’s heirs-at-law. An affidavit of heirship does not work with financial or bank accounts, and is not appropriate for every situation. You will need to meet with an attorney to determine whether an Affidavit of Heirship will meet your specific needs.

If a person dies “intestate” (that is, without a valid Will), their property passes to their heirs-at-law. But in order to transfer title to that property, a Court must investigate and determine who those heirs actually are - which is dependent on family history. Then, an Administrator must be appointed to collect and distribute the deceased person’s estate. The amount of oversight the Court will have over the process depends on whether all the heirs can agree.