Probate begins with filing a petition with the Probate Court. I will prepare the petition for your signature. The petition requests your appointment as personal representative for the deceased individual's estate. After the petition is filed, the judge signs an order approving the petition, and the court issues Letters Testamentary certifying your appointment as personal representative.

 

You as the personal representative then are authorized to deal with all the facets of the estate, including obtaining payments on insurance, paying creditors’ claims, signing releases, listing real property for sale, transferring bank accounts, and any other duties that become necessary as a result of your appointment as personal representative or administrator. It is important to understand that any money received by you as personal representative must be deposited into the estate bank account. It is forbidden to commingle estate funds with your personal funds.

 

 After filing the petition, a notice is published in a local newspaper regarding the probate proceeding. This puts creditors on notice that they have four months within which to file claims against the estate for payment of their accounts.

 

Next, notices must be sent to all heirs and beneficiaries advising them that you have been appointed personal representative or administrator and informing them about how to obtain information about the estate. This notice to heirs and the published notice for creditors are required by law.

 

An inventory of the estate assets must be filed within 90 days of your appointment as personal representative or administrator. The estate assets will consist of all property owned individually by the decedent. 

 

I will assist you in selecting an accountant to prepare the appropriate tax returns. If estate tax returns are due, they must be filed within twelve months after death. The decedent’s final income tax returns and an income tax return for the estate must also be filed, and the accountant will advise you on these issues.

 

Once the creditors have been paid, the estate is ready for distribution. We will then file an accounting with the court reporting all the property in the estate, any income received, and any disbursements made during the probate.

 

The accounting includes a petition for distribution of the estate assets to the beneficiaries, and a request that you be authorized to pay attorney fees and costs, accountant fees, if any, and your personal representative fee. After the judge signs the order approving the accounting and the distribution, distributions are made. We distribute the assets to the beneficiaries together with receipts which they must sign and return for filing with the court.

 

The final income tax return for the estate is prepared by the accountant and filed. We then petition the court to discharge you as personal representative and close the estate.

 

With no complications probate generally will take between six and ten months.