The neighbor, Joann, was a widow with no children. Joann's will specified that all of her assets would go to Sarah's dad and ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Matthew F. Erskine is a trusts and estates attorney. Probate is a term that often sends shivers down the spine of those unfamiliar ...

You may feel overwhelmed and even resentful. You can even refuse to take on the role, but if your relative named you because ...

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, ...

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 ...