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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.
The probate court will then oversee the process of distributing the deceased's assets to the proper beneficiaries. A probate court can be petitioned by interested parties in an estate, such as when a beneficiary feels that an estate is being mishandled. The court has the authority to compel an executor to give an account of their actions.
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 caption for section 303 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, enacted on August 16, 1954, refers to estate taxes, inheritance taxes, legacy taxes and succession taxes imposed because of the death of an individual as "death taxes". That wording remains in the caption of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. [88]
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.
That said, because the California Family Rights Act does recognize domestic partnerships, you can use that for leave protection, according to the California Department of Human Resources.
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Divorce, conversely, will not revoke a will, but in many jurisdictions will have the effect that the former spouse is treated as if they had died before the testator and so will not benefit. Where a will has been accidentally destroyed, on evidence that this is the case, a copy will or draft will may be admitted to probate .