Probate is the court-supervised process that occurs after someone dies. It involves validating the will (if one exists), inventorying assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing remaining property to heirs.
The process is public, often slow (6–18 months), and can be expensive — typically 3–7% of the estate's value in legal and administrative fees.
More importantly, probate creates a public record. Anyone can look up what you owned, who inherited it, and what debts existed. For families who value privacy, this alone is reason to plan around it.
Assets held in trusts, jointly-owned property, and accounts with beneficiary designations generally bypass probate. A well-designed estate plan minimizes or eliminates probate entirely.
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