Father died 4 years ago mother still alive does his will need to be probated – they owned everything jointly.
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Father died 4 years ago mother still alive does his will need to be probated – they owned everything jointly.
Asked on June 18, 2009 under Estate Planning, Pennsylvania
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
If all assets were held jointly, then no, probate is not required. If anything was not jointly held or a beneficiary otherwise named (for example, as with a life insurance policy), then as to those assets, probate would be needed. It should be noted, that simplified probate procedures are available in Pennsylvania if the estate is under a certain dollar amount.
However, since so much time has gone by, I assume that if there were any other assets other than those jointly held you'd know by now.
As for estate planning for your mother's estate, joint ownership would help avoid probate as well. Other ways to work around probate are to use such vehicles as a living trust, payable-on-death designations for C/D's and other bank accounts, or transfer-on-death designations for stocks, bonds, and other securities.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.