Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a deceased person’s will. It involves identifying the person’s final assets, paying last debts and distributing property to the proper heirs. And ...

Managing and securing your estate is one of the most important steps in personal finance. An estate plan ensures your assets get distributed according to your wishes. In addition to mitigating ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She ...

Probate refers to the legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person. This process can take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years, depending on several factors such as the size ...

Probate can be a lengthy and complex process, leaving executors eager to find ways to expedite it. Familiarizing yourself with the legal procedures and documentation required to settle an estate ...

When a person dies without proper planning, their estate enters a public legal process that can last months—sometimes ...

Wills have long been utilized as a classic estate-planning tool. But it's not enough to write up a will and call it a day. Once someone with a will passes away, a court needs to validate it via a ...

Most people have the wrong idea about probate, and don't fear it enough to do something to avoid it My mom died just over a year ago, and I'm still knee-deep in probate. I'm barely average. The ...

One of the most effective tools in the estate planning process is a trust, which can offer significant advantages-including the ability to bypass the often lengthy and costly probate process. Trusts, ...

Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and ...

When a person dies with a will, their estate must usually undergo probate. This is the process by which the will is proven to be valid. As part of this process, the probate court will appoint an ...

My mom died just over a year ago, and I’m still knee-deep in probate. I’m barely average. The typical probate process to settle a will or the estate of somebody who dies without one takes 20 months, ...