When planning for the transfer of assets after death, two terms come up often: probate and trust. Probate is the ...

Probate is the court procedure of proving a will after someone (the decedent) who has completed his or her last will and testament dies. If you have a will and pass away, you have passed away testate ...

The probate process gets a bad reputation, but it’s the reality many families will face, and it’s a process that can function well for some small estates. [Read: How to Prepare to Be an Executor of an ...

We constantly hear from advisors that we should plan our affairs in such a way as to avoid probate. What does the phrase mean and what property is subject to the probate process? What planning is ...

Before paying for complex avoidance strategies or leaving your family to navigate a mess, find out what probate looks like ...

Without a will, your state probate court decides where your property goes after your death. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when ...

Probate is known for being an unnecessarily complicated and lengthy procedure. Even when the estate being probated is fairly simple and straightforward, proceedings can go on for some time, depending ...

Probate in Pennsylvania is likely to take at least several months and not uncommonly more than a year. Many factors can influence the time required to usher an estate through Pennsylvania. The ...

Probate can be a lengthy process, and cost your beneficiaries more than it should. It’s the process of distributing your assets if you haven’t properly planned out your finances for when you pass away ...

Q: A fairly wealthy friend of mine recently passed away. Supposedly, in his will he left most everything to his spouse. The problem is that she has been told by her lawyer it will take up to six ...