Probate is the legal wealth distribution of a deceased person. It is often a time-consuming process as well as a confusing one. Not many people have the knowledge of how to go about probate claim procedure. So here are a few guidelines. These will help you get an overall understand of probate claims as well as educate you on the reasons and occasions as to when you need to go to the probate court.
1. In the cases where the will of the deceased is in existence and available, the individual who is the executor will be responsible to execute the will as specified by the deceased.
2. Probate courts are known as the home of the probate claim processes. Different laws and procedures followed by different states in the US.
3. In an event when a valid will fails to exist, the probate court will appoint a person as an administrator who will be liable to perform the duties of an executor.
4. The creditors will be given an opportunity to claim any unsettled debts if their claims are ruled as valid by the court. These claims will be settled out of the property of the deceased.
5. The duration of the probate claim settlement is usually around 6 months to a year. Greater the complexity of the estates more will be the time consumed.
6. Assets such as life insurance policies, retirement accounts usually have names of persons stated clearly in them. As such, they will not be subject probate claims.
7. Real estate linked to the probate can be sold without waiting for the completion of the probate process.
When is Probate Court Required?
Primarily, there are five main reasons to why you will need to go to a probate court to prove your claim on the deceased assets as a legal beneficiary of the same.
1. Any of the following three reasons make probate courts a necessity,
• Improper Execution – the will was either not clear or did not have any legal binding.
• Mental Incompetence – the decisions of the deceased as stated in the will are subject to questions should he be in a state of mental incompetence t the time when they were taken.
• Undue Influence – if the deceased was under undue stress of any kind, mental or physical then too the probate claim will be required.
2. If the deceased did not have a last will or testament; probate claims are required.
3. A probate claim is required in cases where the deceased was the sole owner of the assets.
4. If the assets were owned by the deceased as a tenant in a Common or Joint Tenancy.
5. If all the beneficiaries have predeceased the decedent or if there are no designated beneficiaries then too a probate claim is required.
Probate Claim Guidelines