Has anyone gone thru the probate process?

[Hawaii Hiker]

Last week, i posted about my mom's death....Thanks again to all the wonderful replies by fellow DUers, i appreciate it very much.....Your kind words really made me feel good...

I was told by a lawyer her estate needs to be probated, which i think is common....There is a house, bank accounts, and a pension fund that will pass to me...I was the only child, father is deceased as well....Her house was in good standing; mortage paid off, taxes all paid....Has anyone gone thru the probate process and what was it like?...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I'm sorry about your mother. My dad passed away recently

and I'm in the middle of dealing with his estate. I'd suggest getting legal help with this, since there's a fair amount of paperwork to deal with.

The specific procedures differ from state to state, but basically what happens is this, assuming you have been appointed executor in the will: First, you have to order a bunch of death certificates. You will need these in order to just about everything for the estate. like collect insurance, transfer titles to property, and open up a probate court file. You have to have the probate court officially name you the executor so you can act for the estate (exactly how this is done depends on the jurisdiction). Once the court issues Letters Testamentary (appointing the executor), you will be able to open up a checking account for the estate so you can pay bills for funeral expenses, etc. You would do this by transferring any existing checking account or other funds to the estate, and now you can pay bills for the estate.

There will be a period of time during which creditors can make claims against the estate, and you would pay those from the estate assets, assuming there is enough money. You will also have to arrange for income tax returns for the current year to be filed and taxes paid (if any), and estate tax returns filed, even if no tax is owed (probably wouldn't be). Once all this is done you can ask the court to approve the estate account, distribute the assets in accordance with the will, and close the estate.

An attorney can walk you through this. I hope it doesn't turn out to be too much of a headache, but if you are the sole heir it should be pretty easy.

Again - sorry about your mom. It's tough to lose a parent.

[quakerboy]

2. Yup

Pretty much. Get a lawyer if its at all possible. The one for my great uncle hired as executor of my grandfathers said his usual fee is 2500-3500, depending on complexity of the situation. I'm sure it varies by area and whatnot..

For his estate the waiting period for creditors to put in claims was 4 months from the publishing of death notices in the papers, etc, until the resources are distributed as per his will.

For other estates that I have been aware of (working with elders, its a situation I have been at the periphery of often enough) that all seems to be about standard. But again, I am sure there are variations by state, and what I have seen has all been OR and WA.