Probate

Probate is the legal process of transferring property owned by you upon your death. Your assets are identified and collected, your debts are paid (including taxes), and the remainder is distributed to your heirs if you have no Will, or to the people you provided for if you die with a Will. Certain types of property such as joint tenancy property, jointly held bank accounts, payable-on-death accounts, and life insurance policies which name a beneficiary can be transferred without going through probate.

Probate is also the process through which questions relating to your estate are cleared up. While one of the primary goals of our estate planning practice is avoiding testamentary problems for our clients and their families, we deal effectively with problems when they do arise.