Will & Testament Services Probate – this 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 in the state of residence [or real property] of the deceased at time of death in the absence of a legal will.
The legal process wherein the estate of a decedent is administered. When a person dies, his or her estate must go through probate, which is a process overseen by a probate court. A Petition to appoint a personal representative may need to be filed and letters of administration (often referred to as “letters testamentary”) issued.
The process begins when the personal representative files with the clerk of the probate court a copy of the death certificate along with the will and a petition to admit the will to probate and to grant letters testamentary, which authorize him or her to distribute the estate. Although the personal representative usually files the probate petition, it can be filed by any person who has a pecuniary interest in the will.
Local laws governing the process often depend on the value and complexity of the estate. If the value of the estate is relatively small, the process may be avoided. In some jurisdictions and/or at a certain threshold, probate must be applied for by the Executor/Administrator or a lawyer filing on their behalf. 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.
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