Welcome to Avoid Probate Court!

We've all been told that if we do nothing else to take care of our legal affairs, we should write a will. That's pretty good advice. If you don't make a will before your death, state law or probate court will determine who gets your property, and a judge may decide who will raise your children. In your will, you can make these decisions yourself.

You may have heard that you should avoid probate, but you may not even be sure what probate is. Here are the basics. Probate is a legal process that takes place after someone dies. It includes:

Proving in court that a deceased person's will is valid (usually a routine matter)
Identifying and inventorying the deceased person's property
Having the property appraised
Paying debts and taxes
Distributing the remaining property as the will (or state law, if there's no will) directs.

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Added Reasons for Using a Probate Court

Beware of these Scams

Within the past 15 years there has been an increasing tendency of those with an estate of any value to consider the establishment of a living will. The living will has been presented as an acceptable alternative to a will, which means use of the probate court. Many people want to avoid the probate court. They hope to avoid the expense of going to such a court. This article suggests four reasons why a decision to avoid the probate court might not represent a wise decision.

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Saving Material to Present in Probate Court

Changes Introduced by the Computer

Twenty years ago one had only a single way to save the material for presentation in probate court. Back then; all wills were saved on paper. The paper will was examined in the probate court. The proliferation of personal computers has changed that fact. Now many wills are saved on computer files, or on a disc.

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Illustrating the Need for Probate Court

The Army offers representation at court

In the late 1980’s, the U.S. Army provided Americans with a court case that underlined the value of probate court. The case concerned a contested will, or rather two contested wills. Both the mother and the wife of a deceased member of the Army band claimed to have the true will from that band player. It soon became obvious that a probate court would need to settle the dispute.

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The Home Not Mentioned in a Probate Court

No Probate Sale from this Cul-de-sac

A knowledgeable real estate investor might watch carefully for the mention of any planned probate sales. Anyone in southern California who watched for such sales in 2005, did not see mention of plans to sell a home on one L.A. County cul-de-sac. Mention of that home could have found its way into a probate court. But at the present time, no probate court judge has heard a case that concerned that particular piece of real estate.

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Probate Court

A Probate Court proceeding consist of proceedings that calls for the recording of many forms, documents, and reports and is scrupulously controlled by the courts.

Each state in the United States has a Probate Court department that oversees all things involved in death and after-death instances. And also, within the state the Probate Court department is part of the regular trial court circuit. The Probate Court has all the same full-fledged powers as any other court of generic jurisdiction.