This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Some assets fall outside of the probate estate because they specifically name a beneficiary to receive them upon the individual’s death. Although some states have specific laws providing for a deceased individual’s spouse, in general, a person can choose to leave their assets to anyone. What is the Purpose of Probate? Determine if Probate Will Be Required. The probate process oversees the disbursement and management of the estate, or all of the property belonging to the deceased individual. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Probate is the process of dealing with the estate of someone who has died, which generally means clearing their debts and distributing their assets in accordance with their will. The more complex or contested an estate is, the longer the probate process can take to finalize. Although the legal process to probate a will varies according to your state and county, the same basic process applies to most estates. Our network attorneys have an average customer rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. An experienced attorney can help you draft an estate plan that transfers your property without all the hassles. When the property was left with you, was there any sort of evidentiary documents stating you were the rightful person the property should go to? Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. min read. A will should be probated immediately, and no one has the right to suppress it. Basically, probate is necessary only for property that was: owned solely in the name of the deceased person—for example, real estate or a car titled in that person’s name alone, or a share of property owned as “ tenants in common ”—for example, the deceased person’s interest in a warehouse owned with his brother as an investment. Assets are anything a person owns with value, such as real and personal property and cash, for instance. A probate judge can summon a will’s witnesses to appear before the court to authenticate the will and testify that they witnessed the testator sign the will. If there is not enough cash on hand to pay all creditors, the executor or personal representative can sell the estate's assets to obtain the funds needed to pay off the debts. This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/54\/Write-a-Journal-Step-5-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Write-a-Journal-Step-5-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/54\/Write-a-Journal-Step-5-Version-2.jpg\/aid1334716-v4-728px-Write-a-Journal-Step-5-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"