Learn how probate validates a will, pays debts, and distributes assets to heirs. State intestacy laws apply when there is no ...

Don't let common inheritance myths derail your family's future. Learn the truths about taxes, wills, and assets so you can ...

Probate Initiation: An interested party, often a family member or creditor, petitions the probate court to open an intestate estate. Appointment of Administrator: The court appoints an administrator ...

Did your father give you a nominal bequest but gave his favorite daughter the bulk of the estate? Were you bequeathed the family dog and $10,000, but your mother’s boyfriend of six months was to ...

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, ...

Q. I was told that unlike wills, a trust doesn’t require probate and is not taxable. My main asset is a house that I want to pass on to my son. Would a living trust help? — Planning A. We’re glad ...

If a deceased person failed to write a will, the laws of the state govern property distribution. As mentioned in my previous column, this is termed intestate inheritance. While the will is probably ...

More than four in five people thought the value of everyday items was too high in a test by a probate and chattel valuer.