The probate process is something that you should understand when you are making estate planning decisions. This process would come into play if you use a last will to direct the transfer of your personally held assets.
These resources would be looked upon as probate property at first. The assets could not be distributed to the heirs that you name in the last will until the probate court closes the estate.
If you draw up a last will, you name an executor in the document. This is the person who will handle the business of the estate after you pass away. The executor would admit the will to probate, and the probate court would supervise the administration of the estate.
You probably want your loved ones to receive their inheritances in a timely manner. Unfortunately, this will not take place when the probate process enters the picture.
The exact duration of the process will vary depending on the complexity of the case and the jurisdiction. In most places, a straightforward case can pass through probate in perhaps nine months to a year.
This can be a long time to wait for an inheritance, and the delay can cause genuine hardships for some people.
There are also a number of expenses that can accumulate during probate, and monies that are spent during probate would have otherwise gone to the family of the decedent.
Uniform Probate Code
Now that we have shared some general information about the probate process, we can provide an explanation of the Uniform Probate Code.
Back in the 1960s the powers-that-be recognized the fact that the probate process was in need of some uniformity. The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws worked on the Uniform Probate Code, and it was completed in 1969.
The idea was to get every state in the union to conform to the Uniform Probate Code so that each state would be on the same page. In reality, most of the states did not adopt the UPC in its entirety.
Only 16 states are using the entire Uniform Probate Code at the time of this writing in 2014.
We practice law in the state of Connecticut. Connecticut has not adopted the entirety of the Uniform Probate Code.
Free Report on Probate
If you would like to obtain some in-depth information about the probate process, we have a valuable resource that you can tap into through this website.
We have assembled an electronic library of special reports that cover a variety of estate planning and elder law topics. One report is devoted to the probate process.
To access your copy of this report, which is being offered free of charge, visit this page and follow the simple instructions: Hartford CT Probate Report.
Mr. Nirenstein is licensed to practice before the courts of the State of Connecticut and the United States District Court. He is a member of the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations, and the Estate and Probate, Elder Law, Business Law and Real Estate Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.
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