Also known as: probated · probating · probates · will proof · estate validation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The judicial procedure by which a testamentary document is established to be a valid will and by which a decedent's estate is administered under court supervision. Property owned by the decedent at death or acquired by the estate thereafter becomes subject to administration unless it passes by nontestamentary means. The process also governs transfers of real property by devise or operation of law as alternatives to deeds.
Phoebe Park dies leaving an inadequate probate estate but a sizable revocable trust. Her creditors file claims for medical debts and funeral expenses. Because the trust was revocable at her death, the probate court orders the trustee to satisfy the shortfall from trust assets under the applicable statute.
Penelope Price's will devises her vacation cabin to her niece. After the will is admitted to probate, title passes directly to the niece by operation of the probate decree. No separate deed from the estate is required to complete the transfer.
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Priya Prasad petitions the probate court to establish her right to inherit from her deceased father under intestacy rules. The court applies constitutional standards to determine whether state probate statutes may exclude her solely because her parents were unmarried at her birth.
Pavel Petrov's estate publishes notice of probate in a local newspaper. A known hospital creditor misses the short filing window and later challenges the bar to its claim. The probate court must decide whether publication alone satisfied due process for that creditor.
Pearl Porter lies in a persistent vegetative state. Her conservator petitions the probate court under a state statute for authority to discontinue artificial nutrition. The court evaluates whether the statute permits the decision consistent with constitutional liberty interests.
Peter Park's Florida will exercises a power of appointment over a Delaware trust. After his death, competing proceedings arise in both states. The probate court in Florida must determine whether it has jurisdiction to adjudicate the trust's validity and the appointment's effect.
Admission to probate is the court's formal determination that the document is the decedent's valid last will. Once admitted, the will controls distribution of the probate estate and authorizes appointment of a personal representative.
After the settlor's death, creditors and estate administration expenses may reach the trust assets to the extent the probate estate is insufficient. The trust property is treated as available for those claims under the uniform statute.
Yes. A devise in a probated will transfers title by operation of law without a separate deed from the testator. The probate decree itself perfects the transfer under governing probate codes.
Publication alone may be insufficient for known creditors. Due process requires reasonable efforts to notify identifiable claimants so they may file timely claims before the estate is distributed.
…trust assets were distributed to Florida beneficiaries pursuant to the exercise of a power of appointment contained in a will probated in Florida, and the controversy concerns the validity of that appointment under Florida law. These contacts are sufficient to satisfy the requirements of International Shoe Co. v.…