Tag: non-probate

An estate plan is not a stack of documents.  At its heart, estate planning involves arranging one’s property and affairs for use during life and disposition after death.  A person’s “gross estate” generally includes two types of property: probate and non-probate.  This article provides a brief overview of these two approaches to property distribution after death.

Probate property refers to assets that must pass through the Probate Court system before being distributed to heirs.  A probate case begins when a person (usually a potential heir of the deceased) asks the Court to open a proceeding for the administration of a decedent’s estate.  The Court will...