Probate is the
legal process of validating a will, supervising the adminstration
of a will, and making distribution of estate assets to beneficiaries.
The probate process can be very complex and time consumming
and costly. Court supervision is required before property
will pass to your heirs. In the probate process, the court
will designated and adminster of the estate who must closely
follow probate procedures and deliberately and carefully
account for and distribute assets. The adminstrator must
value all assets, notify and pay creditors and often become
involved in disputes over the validity of meaning of a will.
Probate procedures
can go on for years, especially where the estate is not
properly planned, is of substantial value, or where the
probate proceddings become adversarial in nature. This leads
to inevitable delays in providing your heirs with the benefits
of your estate. The length and complexity of the probate
process can drain the value of assets from an estate; value
that the deceased intended to provide to his or her family.
