Also known as: probate a will · probated a will · probates a will · probate · probate proceedings
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The judicial process by which a court determines the validity of a decedent's will and admits it to administration as the instrument governing distribution of the probate estate. The proceeding requires proof that the document meets execution formalities and reflects the testator's intent. Once admitted, the will controls disposition of assets subject to probate administration.
After Pavel Petrov's death, his executor initiates probate of his will. The probate estate lacks sufficient assets to pay all claims. Creditors then reach assets in a revocable trust Pavel created during life because the trust property becomes subject to estate obligations once the will is probated.
Pierce Patterson's will devises his farmland to his niece. Upon Pierce's death the executor probates the will. Title to the land passes directly to the niece by operation of the will without a separate deed from the estate.
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Peter Park's will is presented for probate missing one page that named an alternate executor. The court admits the remaining coherent pages because they were present at execution and reflect the testator's overall plan.
Philip Powell's will grants his wife a life estate in the family farm with remainder to their children. After the will is probated the wife takes possession for life and the children hold future interests that vest upon her death.
Pedro Pacheco's attorney negligently drafts a will containing an invalid restraint on alienation. After the will is probated and the intended beneficiaries lose their interests they sue the attorney for malpractice arising from the defective instrument.
Perry Pratt 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 court refuses to probate the document because the stated condition never occurred.
No. Property held as tenants by the entirety or in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes automatically to the surviving co-owner by operation of law. It never becomes part of the decedent's probate estate, so a will admitted to probate cannot devise that interest.
A waiver is unenforceable if the surviving spouse lacked independent legal representation or adequate financial disclosure and did not expressly waive disclosure in writing. Modern probate codes require these safeguards before a court will enforce the agreement against statutory rights.
The proponent must show that the remaining pages were present at execution, are physically connected or internally coherent, and encompass the substance of the testator's dispositive plan. An inadvertently omitted page does not invalidate the balance if these conditions are met.
No. When a will expressly conditions its effectiveness on a specific event and the testator survives that event, the will remains inoperative and is not admitted to probate.
…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…