The court process that settles a deceased person's estate: validating any will, paying debts, and transferring what remains.
Probate is the court-supervised process of winding up someone's affairs after death. It establishes whether a will is valid, appoints the person who will administer the estate, identifies and values assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes what remains.
Dying without a valid will does not mean the state takes the estate - a common misconception. It means the state's intestacy statute supplies the distribution instead of the deceased's own instructions, and the resulting split frequently differs from what the family expected.
Not all property passes through probate. Assets with a surviving joint owner or a named beneficiary - many retirement accounts, life insurance, and property held in certain forms of joint ownership - generally pass outside it, which is why a beneficiary designation can override the will and why out-of-date designations cause so many disputes.
Advice is most useful early, when the estate's size and shape determine whether a simplified procedure is available - many small estates qualify for one. It becomes close to necessary where there is real property in more than one state, a contested will, or an estate that may not cover its debts.
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