Why do we need Probate? The answer is unique to your situation. Here is a list of ways that Probate can work for you and your family, if it is handled properly:

• Probate makes sure the intended beneficiaries get their share of the Estate
• Probate proves how the decedent has expressed his or her intentions for distributing property and assets to surviving people, upon death (The word Probate comes from the Latin word meaning to prove.)
• Probate shuts the door on a decedent's creditors. Unless those creditors have perfected their liens before the decedent's death, or they file claims according to special Probate procedures, the creditors are finished.
• Probate handles the transfer of property. When assets such as real estate, a bank account, or stocks and bonds cannot be reached by the family or heirs of a deceased person, Probate provides the answer to the question of who gets ownership of that property. Here's how:

When a person dies, legal title of his or her property must be transferred to someone else. The legal title must be transferred from:

The Decedent >>>to>>> Person(s) Named in the Will.

In Massachusetts, the process begins with a Petition we file in the Registry of Probate:

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The Petition is review by Probate Court Staff and a Probate Court Judge. The legal title to the decedent's property can be transferred when the Judge allows a Probate Petition, and issues a Court Decree authorizing transfer of the property:

For example, suppose Mr. John Smith, Sr. owns a house at the time of his death and he took no steps to avoid probate before he died. His only surviving relative is his son, John Smith, Jr. It is necessary to transfer title to the house, so that his son can take ownership of the house:

John Smith, Sr. >>>to>>> John Smith, Jr.

Ownership of John Smith, Sr.'s house cannot be transferred to anyone, until the Probate Court issues the Court Decree authorizing the Executor (or if there is no will, an Administrator) to transfer the ownership of the house.

Many of my clients use alternative solutions that save time and expenses, while still protecting family members. We will discuss those alternative solutions in the following pages on avoiding probate and estate planning. The alternatives that avoid probate work well with advance planning. But without advance planning, Probate may become a necessity.

Properly drafted Wills and Trusts reduce the cost of Settling an Estate, and that's a blessing to surviving family members. Without advance planning, family members will be confronted with complicated decisions and tasks involved with managing and distributing property, at the very time they are grieving the loss of a loved one.

For estate planning and estate settlement services that keep you in control of the probate process, and for answers to questions that you may be hearing from the decedent's heirs and family members, call us at 567-5600.