A probate is necessary when an individual has a will or has no estate plan in place at the time of death. A court-supervised process for the administration of an estate and the distribution of assets to an individual’s heirs, a probate can be expensive the time-consuming.
A probate is maintained for at least four months to provide creditors of an estate with an opportunity to present claims for payment. Typically, a probate is in effect from six months to a year depending on the assets that need to be inventoried and sold in the probate process. After a probate has been adjudicated through a court process, an estate is in a condition to be distributed to the heirs of the estate. The fees associated with a probate are based upon a statutory fee schedule.