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Jasper L.
Edwards
Have you ever heard the phrase, "to probate a
will?" It sounds complicated, and it is, but
probating a will is an easy to understand
concept.
What Probate Is
When a will is probated, it is proved, or
validated, to be the authentic last will and
testament of the person who died. A court of
law approves the will and confirms the
authority of the person who is named in the
will as the executor. The executor is the
person who makes sure that the wishes of the
deceased are carried out according to the
will.
In Probate, the will is approved by the court,
and the executor receives documents called
"Letters probate" that tell the world that the
executor is authorized to act on behalf of the
deceased under the authority of the will in
probate.
Suppose, for example, that a person who owned a
house died, and her will directed that her
executor sell her house and divide the proceeds
of sale in equal shares among her adult
children. The executor of the will, in order to
carry out the wishes of the deceased, would
have to list the property for sale with a real
estate agent. The executor might have to pay
for any repairs necessary to maximize the value
of the house, and the executor would be
required to pay the mortgage, taxes, and
insurance on the house from estate funds until
the house was sold.
Letter probates empower the executor to sell
property and allocate funds that are not his or
her own property. With Letters probate, bank
clerks and realtors can deal in confidence with
the executor, knowing that they have the full
authority of the court behind them.
Is It Necessary To Probate A
Will?
Only a lawyer who is familiar with the estate
laws in the state where the deceased lived at
the time of their death can tell a client
whether it is necessary to probate the will.
Probate is an expensive process. Probating a
will can cost the estate money for attorney's
fees and court costs, reducing the amount of
money that goes to the heirs of the
deceased.
There may be some circumstances when it is not
necessary to go through the probate process.
Some of the factors that go into deciding
whether or not you need probate include the
nature of the assets, the nature of the
beneficiaries, and how well the will describes
how the deceased wanted their property
allocated among the
beneficiaries.
RESOURCE
BOX
Free Wills
to Print provides detailed information on
Free Wills, How to Write a Will, Last Will And
Testament, Living Wills and more.
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