Find a Lawyer
By Practice Area
Bankruptcy
Business Law
Child Custody
Criminal Law
Divorce
Environmental Law
Family Law
Labor & Employment Law
Personal Injury
Real Estate
Wills & Probate
More...
By Life Events
Getting a Divorce
Write a Will
Bankruptcy, Credit and Debt
Home Disaster Recovery
Losing a Job
Landlord Tenant
Automobile Accident
Privacy Violated
Care for an Aging Relative
Identity Theft
Hot Topics on Lawyers.com
More...
By Location
California
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Michigan
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Texas
Washington
More...
Understand Your Legal Issue
Legal Forums
Register
Sign in
Bankruptcy
Business
Criminal
Employment
Family
Immigration
Real Estate
More...
Chat
Upcoming
Archive
Help
Ask a Lawyer
Most Recent Q&A
Ask a Question
Ask a Lawyer Archive
Discuss Your Legal Issue
State Law and Agencies
U.S. Constitution
Federal Courts & Laws
U.S. Small Claims Court
Traffic Violations in Your State
Federal Government Agencies
Legal Dictionary
Free Case Law Research
Legal Help & Resources
Legal Forms
Lawyers.com Blog
Attorney Blog
Blogs
Lawyers.Com
>
Understand Your Legal Issue
>
Wills And Probate
> Wills & Probate Basics
Wills & Probate Basics
In a
will
, a person or "testator" expresses, in writing, what he (or she) wants done with his property after he dies. Most states require wills to be signed by the testator and witnessed by two people. "Probate" is a court proceeding in which final debts are settled and legal title to property is formally passed from the deceased person or "decedent" to his heirs. Probate proceedings take place in the probate court or surrogate court in the county of the decedent's legal residence at the time of his death. If a person dies "intestate," meaning "without a will," state law determines how to distribute his property.
Find a
Wills and Probate attorney
in your area.
Wills and Probate Articles
State Specific Resources
-
State Codes and Statutes Websites
-
Estate Planning in Your State
Articles
-
Wills Top 10
-
Your Will Is a Key to Your Legacy
-
What If Your Children Come after Your Will Is Done?
-
Leaving Someone Out of Your Will
-
Witnesses to a Will
-
Leaving a Spouse Out of Your Will
-
Designating Trustees in a Will
-
Disinheriting an Heir and Your Will
-
Executors
-
When and Why You Should Update Your Will
-
Estate Taxes & Planning
-
Revoking a Will
-
Probate
-
Amending a Will
-
Transferring Property outside Probate
-
Keeping Your Will Safe
-
Partition Action
-
What Should Be Done If a Will Cannot Be Found?
-
Grounds for Will Contests
-
Dying Without a Will: Nonmarital Children and Inheritance
-
Estate Planning and the Title to Your Property
-
Personal Gifts in Wills
-
Ways to Avoid Probate Court
-
"Of Sound Mind" and Testamentary Capacity
-
Do Retirement Benefits Need to go Through Probate?
-
Will Basics
-
What Happens if I Die Without a Will?
-
Types of Wills
-
Don't Let the Government Inherit Your Property
-
Organize Your Paperwork
-
Dying Without a Will: Adopted Children
-
Preparing a Will
-
Beneficiaries in a Will
-
Necessary Will Provisions
-
Reciprocal Wills for Couples
-
Anticontest Provisions for Wills and Trusts
-
Does Joint Property Need to Go Through Probate?
-
Life Estates
-
Does Insurance Money Need to go Through Probate?
-
When You Want to Provide for Your Children
-
How Can I Stop Fights Over What I Leave?
-
Step-children and Your Will
-
Considerations When Naming a Health Care Surrogate
-
Picking the Best Legal Guardian for Your Child
-
Terminating a Power of Attorney
-
Families Should Consider Legal Checkups
Hot Topics
-
Billions in Unclaimed Property - Is Any Yours?
-
Legal Consequences of Dying without a Will
-
Looting a Loved One's Estate
Wills and Probate FAQs
-
Wills & Probate: FAQ
-
Gloria Allred Wills & Estate Planning Tips
-
Lawyers.com Wills & Estate Planning Survey Key Findings
Do-it-Yourself Legal Forms
-  
Last Will and Testament
-  
Pet Protection Agreement
-  
Living Trust
-  
Power of Attorney
-  
Living Will
Lawyers.com
sm
Virtual Community
Message Boards
-  
FL - Estates, Wills & Probate
-  
Estates, Wills & Probate
-  
NY - Estates, Wills & Probate
-  
Guardianship
-  
Elder Law
Chats
-  
Sharon Siegel
-  
Chat Listing
Hiring a Wills and Probate Lawyer
-
Wills & Probate: Selecting a Good Lawyer
-
Wills & Probate: Preparing to Meet with a Lawyer
-
Wills & Probate: Meeting with a Lawyer
Related Topics on Lawyers.com
sm
-  
Estate Planning
-  
Powers of Attorney
-
Family Law
Ask a Lawyer - Wills & Probate Basics Law questions answered by leading lawyers
my brother and i are co executors of my fathers will can my brother retain a lawyer and proceed wit
our father is here in toledo but lives in florida but dont have a will what happens if he passes awa
my dad has no will what happens if he dies
If my mom has a will and it''s not in the spot she told me it would be how would i go about finding
how can i get my inhertiance
mother died and left my uncle in charge of the estate he said since i lived in the house and he paid the my bills with the estate money
view more...
Wills and Probate Lawyer Web Sites
-
New Jersey Probate Law
- Parsons & Nardelli
-
New Jersey Estate Litigation
- Law Office Of Alice Beirne
-
Arkansas Probate Attorneys
- Plastiras Law Firm
-
Delaware Probate Attorney
- William W. Erhart, P.A.
-
Mississippi Law
- Cumbest, Cumbest, Hunter & Mccormick, P.A.
Choose A Topic
PERSONAL
-- Bankrutpcy Evaluation
-- Divorce Agreement
-- Last Will and Testament
-- Legal Name Change
-- Living Trust
-- Living Will
-- Pet Protection Agreement
-- Power of Attorney
View All Personal Documents
-----------------------
PROFESSIONAL
-- 501(c)(3) Application
-- Affidavit
-- Copyright Registration
-- DBA Filing Service
-- Incorporation Services
-- Limited Liabiltity Corporation (LLC)
-- Non-Disclosure Agreement
-- Non-Profit Incorporation Service
-- Partnership Agreement
-- Provisional Patent Application
-- Real Estate Deed Transfer
-- Real Estate Lease
-- Trademark Registration
View All Professional Documents
Top Estate Planning Forms
Last Will & Testament
Power of Attorney
Living Will
Living Trust
Pet Protection Agreement
Legal Name Change
Real Estate Deed Transfer
Debt Settlement Agreement
More Popular Documents
Type an area of Law or a Lawyer/Law
Firm that pertains to your situation.
City:
State:
Select
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Province:
Select
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Yukon Territory
Country:
United States
Canada
Guam
Puerto Rico
U.S. Pacific Territories
U.S. Virgin Islands
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Anguilla
Antigua
Argentina
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Channel Islands
Chile
China
Colombia
Congo
Cook Islands
Côte d’ Ivoire
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic …
…of the Congo
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
England
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Korea
Kuwait
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M.)
Malaysia
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
North Korea
Northern Ireland
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian Territories
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Sao Tome E Principe
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent …
…and The Grenadines
Saudi Arabia
Scotland
Senegal
Serbia & Montenegro
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turks & Caicos Islands
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
U.S. Pacific Territories
U.S. Virgin Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Find
Law Firms
by State or Province
Find
Law Firms
by Area of Law