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In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy that apply in the jurisdiction where the deceased resided at the time of their death.
Estate planning may involve a will, trusts, beneficiary designations, powers of appointment, property ownership (for example, joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, tenancy in common, tenancy by the entirety), gifts, and powers of attorney (specifically a durable financial power of attorney and a durable medical power of attorney).
The administrator of an estate is a legal term referring to a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of a deceased person who left no will. [1] Where a person dies intestate, i.e., without a will, the court may appoint a person to settle their debts, pay any necessary taxes and funeral expenses, and distribute the remainder according to the procedure set down by law.
Probating an estate is an expensive, time-consuming and sometimes adversarial affair. It is possible, and sometimes advisable, to avoid probate. With the help of an estate planner and, perhaps, an ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 19 January 2025. Legal declaration where a person distributes property at death "Last Will" redirects here. For the film, see Last Will (film). This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of ...
A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. [1] In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts [ 2 ] or courts of ordinary.
Superimposed on the legal estate and interests in land, English courts created "equitable interests" over the same legal interests. These obligations are called trusts which will be enforceable in a court. A trustee is the person who holds the legal title to property, while the beneficiary is said to have an equitable interest in the property.
[1] Another definition is the "administration of an estate's asset's in another state." [2] This is often a necessary procedure in probate, because the decedent may own property in a state other than his domicile, which is subject to the law of the state in which it sits. Generally, an ancillary administration proceeding should commence in any ...