Probate is the process that transfers legal title of property from the estate of the person who has died (the "decedent") to his or her proper beneficiaries.
The term "probate" refers to a "proving" of the existence of a valid Will, or determining and "proving" who one's legal heirs are if there is no Will. Since the deceased can't take it with him, probate is the process used to determine who gets his or her property.
Long and complicated words scare a lot of people. They are a lot less difficult that you might think, especially thanks to our Estate Planning Legalese Dictionary.
The primary function of probate is transferring title of the decedent’s property to his heirs and/or beneficiaries. If there is no property to transfer, there is usually no need for probate.
Another function of probate is to provide for the collection of any taxes due by reason of the deceased's death or on the transfer of his or her property.
The probate process also provides a mechanism for payment of outstanding debts and taxes of the estate, for setting a deadline for creditors to file claims (thus foreclosing any old or unpaid creditors from haunting heirs or beneficiaries) and for the distribution of the remainder of the estate's property to ones' rightful heirs.
No. Some process is a must to transfer legal title from the deceased’s own name to his or her beneficiaries or heirs. Most states also allow a limited amount of several types of property to pass to certain beneficiaries free of probate, or through a simplified probate procedure.
Real and personal property owned as a joint tenant passes to the surviving co-owners without going through probate.
Other types of benefits, such as a life insurance policy or annuity payable directly to a named beneficiary bypass probate. Money from IRAs, Keoghs, and 401(k) accounts transfer automatically, outside probate, to the persons named as beneficiaries. Bank accounts that are set up as payable-on-death account (POD for short) or an "in trust for" account (a "Totten Trust") with a named beneficiary also pass to that beneficiary without probate.
If a Living Trust holds legal title to some of your property, that also passes to the beneficiaries without probate. (The Trust is a legal entity which survives you after your death.)