How do you know if a Will needs to be probated?
This is another great question because like I mentioned earlier in another video, a lot of times people will call into our office and say, my mom or dad or my husband or wife had a will. So I don't have to go through the probate process. Well, in most jurisdictions, depending on how much money there is and depending on what there is, that is absolutely not the case, you will have to go through the probate process, especially if there is real estate involved in almost all jurisdictions. And again, it depends on your jurisdiction.
Real Estate
If there is real estate involved, the only way to transfer title is to go through the probate process and have the probate court have the probate judge sign an order at the very end transferring the property to whoever the heirs are of the estate.
If you loved ones did not have any assets
There might also be cases where your loved one didn't have anything and that comes up a lot, too. So let's say your loved one lived in an apartment where they were paying rent. Let's say that they did not own a car and they just had a bank account with whatever their last monthly paycheck was. So maybe they have a couple thousand dollars in their bank account. They rent where they are living and they don't have a car and that is it. They don't have any other assets. Well, in that case, it really doesn't matter whether there was a will or no will, because there really is nothing to actually probate. You don't necessarily have to probate an estate.
Do your research
Many times people will come into our office and they will just because they hear it on TV or have read it someplace immediately think that they need to probate their loved ones estate. And if their loved one did not have any assets that actually need to be transferred from that loved one's name to the beneficiaries or the heirs, then there really is no need for a probate. If your loved one didn't have anything, then there's nothing to transfer. So a probate is not necessary.
Estate Planning
I know I've thrown a lot at you today, so that's why we've prepared our free guide on estate planning. I'll put a link to it in the description below and in the comment section below. That so that you can download it and get started in the right direction and to help you out even more. Watch this video up here and this video up here. If you enjoyed this video, then guys please smash that subscribe button and click on the like button and also click on that little bell so you'll get notified every time we post a new video. Have a great day and an awesome week. And as always, thanks for watching.
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Cortes Law Firm
5801 Broadway Extension Hwy Suite 110
Oklahoma City, OK, 73118
405-213-0856