Also known as: probate proceedings · probate · probate process · estate administration
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A court-supervised process for administering a decedent's estate. The process determines the validity of any will, appoints a personal representative, collects assets, pays valid claims, and distributes remaining property to heirs or devisees according to the will or intestacy statutes.
Peter Park dies leaving a small probate estate and a large revocable trust. His creditors file claims exceeding the probate assets. The probate court orders the trustee to pay the shortfall from trust property because the probate estate cannot satisfy the debts.
Patricia Patel executes a will devising her farm to her niece. After Patricia's death the probate court admits the will and issues letters testamentary. Title to the farm transfers to the niece by operation of the probate decree without any deed from the estate.
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Portia Price's estate publishes notice to creditors but fails to mail actual notice to a known hospital that treated her. The hospital's late claim is allowed because the probate court finds the published notice alone insufficient to start the limitations period against that creditor.
Philip Powell dies intestate survived by an acknowledged but unmarried daughter. The probate court applies the state descent statute and awards the daughter her intestate share after determining that the statute's classification of illegitimate children violates equal protection.
Pierre Poulin's executor values farmland at death for the augmented estate calculation. The surviving spouse objects in the probate proceeding, arguing the pre-death joint-tenancy valuation rule applies. The court resolves the valuation dispute before determining the elective share.
Pedro Pacheco executes a will stating it takes effect only if he fails to return from a specific trip. He survives the trip and later dies. The probate court refuses to admit the document because the stated condition never occurred and the instrument therefore never became operative.
A probate proceeding determines whether the will was properly executed, whether the testator had capacity, and whether the document is the decedent's genuine last expression of intent. The court does not interpret the meaning of the will's provisions during the probate phase itself.
A probate proceeding administers only assets that pass under the will or by intestacy. Assets subject to beneficiary designations, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or revocable trusts generally pass outside the probate proceeding and are not administered by the court unless the probate estate is inadequate to pay claims.
Probate statutes require publication of notice to creditors and, when the identity of a creditor is known, actual mailed notice. Failure to provide constitutionally adequate notice can prevent the running of the nonclaim period against that creditor.
Yes. Real property devised by will passes by operation of the probate decree rather than by deed from the decedent. A fiduciary may later execute a deed only to perfect record title if needed.
…right to refuse treatment was grounded in both the common law and a constitutional right of privacy, the court held that a state probate statute authorized the patient's conservator to order the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment when such a decision was made in good faith based on medical advice and the conservatee's…