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Most or all of the deceased person's property can be transferred without probate. The best-case scenario is that you don't need to go to probate court, because assets can be transferred without it.

When someone dies, you (as an executor or administrator of the estate) are not required by law to file probate documents. However, if you do not file probate documents, you will not be able to legally transfer title of any assets that exist in the decedent's name.

If beneficiaries refuse, the executor is free to file a Formal Accounting. If the judge approves the accounting, the executor is discharged. With a release, the administrator can distribute the assets with confidence. With the distribution of all assets, the executor is said to have closed the estate.

If you do not obtain Probate when someone dies, and Probate is needed on the Estate, then the beneficiaries will not be able to receive their inheritance. Instead the assets will be frozen, and will be held in a state of limbo, as no one will have the legal authority to access or transfer the assets.

Not every estate, however, needs to go through the probate process. Probate is required only when there is no other mechanism by which to transfer the asset to the heirs or devisees of the estate. ... Assets owned jointly with rights of survivorship are designed to avoid the probate court process.

Some people don't want to probate a will. There is no requirement that a will or property go through probate, but if the decedent owned property that is not arranged specifically to avoid probate (see below), there is no way for the beneficiaries to obtain legal ownership without it. There are some exceptions to this.

Wills do not have to go through probate unless you want to transfer ownership of assets owned by the testator, or the person who wrote the will, to her living beneficiaries. ... Generally, probate is required for large, complex estates with multiple assets to settle the testator's affairs in an orderly, legal way.

Probate Assets There will also be items of personal property that do not have title documents, such as furniture and appliances, clothing, household goods, and other personal items. All of these are subject to probate and must be included on the inventory filed with the probate court.

Probate is the court-supervised process of authenticating a last will and testament if the deceased made one. It includes locating and determining the value of the decedent's assets, paying his final bills and taxes, and, finally, distributing the remainder of the estate to his rightful beneficiaries.

Is a Grant of Probate always required? It is not always necessary to extract a Grant of Probate. A Grant of Probate will not be required where all assets and property are held in joint names.

Estate administration is the process that occurs after a person dies. During this process, a person's probate assets are collected, his or her creditors are paid, and then the remaining assets are distributed to his or her beneficiaries in accordance with his or her will.

When a person dies, his or her debts do not simply go poof and disappear. If an estate has any assets, all debts must be paid before beneficiaries can inherit anything. ... You don't necessarily need a lawyer to probate an estate in Connecticut. However, the procedures for settling an insolvent estate can be cumbersome.

If the gross value of the deceased's estate amounts to more than $2 million, your attorney or CPA will need to file a federal estate tax return. ... If the deceased was your parent, you aren't personally responsible for his debts. If his debts exceed his assets, you're not required to pay off the balance.

Many executors are able to wrap up an estate themselves, without hiring a probate lawyer. ... But if you're handling an estate that's straightforward and not too large, you may find that you can get by just fine without professional help.

To collect the deceased person's cash assets and to have a way to pay the bills, you'll need a bank account for estate funds. ... Once you have been appointed executor by the probate court, you'll probably want to open a bank account in the name of the estate.