Many people want to know just what probate means
and what is involved in the probate process.
Probate is nothing more than a court-supervised
process through which the property of a decedent is
distributed to the decedent’s heirs at law
(if the decedent died intestate without a Will) or
to designated beneficiaries (if the decedent died
Testate with a Will). Usually, the document
evidencing the intent of a deceased person is
decedent’s Will. The Will appoints a
trusted person(s) to act as the personal
representative to pay the legitimate debts and
distribute the remaining assets to the named
beneficiaries in the Will in the shortest time
possible. It often takes several months to
determine what debts are legitimate or not. It
often requires liquidation of large assets such as
real estate in order to effect the Wills direction
for distribution to the beneficiaries. This
explains the primary cause for delay in
distribution of estates. The probate process
also provides for a creditor claim procedure of
four months as opposed to a two year statute of
limitations for creditors to make claims if the
publication to creditor's procedure is not taken
advantage of.
Over a decade ago, a wave of Living Trust salesmen
came through the State of Washington campaigning
for an out of court process of what was advertised
as a substitute for probate. Revocable Living
Trusts have their place in certain circumstances
that can be explained to you. However, for
most people, a Living Trust is an overkill of
complexity and costs that too often does not
prevent probate due to lack of maintaining all
assets in the trust. My philosophy is that
“simple is best.”
In an effort to take the mystery out of the probate
process, I have attached a flat fee probate fee
agreement that I have been using for a number of
years. However, please note that there are
often circumstances that require legal aid outside
of the probate process such as assistance in
selling real estate, clearing up questionable
creditors, resolving lawsuits or other problems
that decedent had prior to his/her death and of
course, there is the need for tax preparation. My
flat fee agreement discusses other potential causes
of extra legal work incidental to the probate
process. In summary, the probate process is
not to be feared and is relatively easy for the
personal representative to distribute assets in a
timely fashion.
In conclusion, I would like you to understand that
this short article cannot take the place of a
conference with an attorney who can give you advice
based upon your situation and needs. For every
general rule presented in this article there could
be many exceptions. The purpose of this
article is to give you a brief over view of this
area of law and to help you gather the information
and to ask questions of your attorney.
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