March, 2006

Estate Probate – II

Getting Started

Let’s say your great uncle Leo died with a Last Will & Testament naming you as the primary beneficiary of his estate.  The rest of the family thinks you weaseled your way into his good graces at the right moment (right before he died) and are pretty miffed about it.  But money is money so you want this baby probated.

The first step is to determine whether you need to do the full formal probate, or if you can take the easy road with a Voluntary Administration.  If Leo had less than $15,000 in assets (not including his car) then you can take this shortcut.  All that is required is that you file the will, a death certificate, and a form with the Probate Court which states: 1) who Leo was, 2) who you are, 3) who his family and heirs are, and 4) an estimate of what he had for assets.  By doing this, you are agreeing to take care of everything in accordance with the will.  Since there are little assets to begin with, it is nice to dispose of an estate with as little legal red tape as possible. 

Of course it’s probably nicer to deal with the red tape if it means Leo left you a small fortune.  If there is more than $15,000 in probate assets, then you have to do the full formal probate.  Here, the first step is to get the will allowed and have yourself appointed as the Executrix (Executor if you are a male).  You still file the will and death certificate with the court.  And you still fill out a form similar to that above, but this time you are asking the Court to allow the will, meaning to enter an order saying “this is the official last will and testament and is valid and binding.”   You are also asking the Court to appoint yourself as Executrix because (you hope) somewhere in the will Leo nominated you for this job.

The best practice is to have anyone named on the petition as a family member or heir sign a formal assent to the allowance of the will.  If no one objects to your petition, it is allowed as a matter of course.  If anyone objects, then a hearing needs to be held to decide the issue.  Their objections to the will are pretty much limited to whether Leo was incompetent or under undue influence or fraud when he executed his will. 

Once the will is allowed and you are appointed as Executrix, you need to do two things right off the bat.  First, let the other heirs in the will know what Leo left them.  Usually they already know by now and a formal reading of the will is good practice.  If you like, call them all to a spooky castle and read it to them in the study.  Then tell them they only get their share if they can stay in the castle the entire night.

The other thing you need to do right away is prepare the Inventory for the Court.  The Inventory is an itemized list of all Leo’s assets, real property or personal, and gives a value for each item.  This needs to be completed in 3 months time so you should get started right away.  For large items like real estate, a formal appraisal is recommended.   For smaller items, you can put in Kelley Blue Book or ebay values.  Take care in preparing this document.  Once it is filed, you are pretty much stuck with it.

You now have the probate process off and running.  Soon all of Leo’s wealth will be yours.