Important Tips to Remember While Probating a Will

Most people don’t think about probate until they are in the thick of it, holding a death certificate in one hand and a sealed envelope labeled “Last Will and Testament” in the other. At that point, the learning curve feels more like a wall. If you are nearing retirement, there is a good chance you will be part of this experience soon. You may be the one planning what you leave behind, or you could be the executor managing someone else’s estate. Maybe both.

The good news is that probate isn’t a mystery. The tougher truth is that it can hit the unprepared with quiet and costly consequences.

What follows skips the basic introduction. It goes deeper than the simple checklists you have likely already read. It’s meant for those who need to understand not just what to do, but why each step matters.

Understand what probate is before you are standing in the middle of it

To put it plainly, probate is court-supervised paperwork. The estate’s assets get gathered, debts and taxes get paid, and whatever remains goes to the beneficiaries. The reason it gets a bad reputation is that each of those three things contains traps that aren’t obvious until you’ve fallen into one.

Probate varies significantly from state to state. About a third of states use versions of the Uniform Probate Code, which simplifies the process. The others have their own rules. California calculates attorney fees based on the gross estate value rather than the net value. Pennsylvania has no state estate tax but does have a flat inheritance tax that varies by relationship to the deceased. Florida processes cases relatively quickly, whereas New York often takes longer. Assuming one state’s rules apply elsewhere can cause you to miss a critical deadline.

There are also two types to understand. Informal probate applies when the family agrees, the will is clear, and there are no disputes. You file an accounting and the court mostly stays out of it. Formal probate begins when there’s conflict, unclear terms, or a creditor makes a claim. It’s slower, more expensive, and a judge starts making decisions you would have preferred to handle yourself.

Below are a few important tips you should consider at the time of probating a will:

Tip #1: Do these things first before any official paperwork starts

Before any official paperwork starts, the executor needs to secure the situation. Change the locks if anyone other than immediate family had keys. Forward the mail. Estate attorneys frequently share stories about personal property that disappears during the first few days and is later claimed as a verbal promise from the deceased. Proving otherwise is difficult.

a. Order 10 to 12 certified death certificates

3 won’t cut it. Every bank, brokerage, and insurer wants an original. Funeral homes can usually arrange these for $15 to $25 each depending on the state. Running out mid-process means waiting on county vital records, which adds weeks.

b. Open the estate bank account before you need it

You’ll need an Employer Identification Number from the IRS for the estate, which you can obtain online in about 10 minutes. Without an estate account, you can’t legally deposit refund checks, dividend payments, or any other items that arrive in the deceased’s name after death. Never mix these funds with your own.

c. Read the will twice before doing anything with it

Don’t skim. Pay attention to specific bequests, residuary clauses, and any conditions attached to inheritances. The order and phrasing carry legal weight.

d. Don’t file the will until you’ve spoken to someone

Most states require that the original will be filed with the probate court within 30 days. Once filed, your options narrow. A short consultation with a probate attorney before that filing can save weeks later.

The deceased’s digital life is its own category. Email accounts, cloud storage, cryptocurrency wallets, subscription services, social media profiles. Federal law and most state laws treat digital assets differently from physical ones, and platforms have their own rules. Some allow legacy contacts. Others require court orders. If you can find the password manager, you’ve won half the battle. If you can’t, prepare for a long string of customer service calls.

Tip #2: Follow the probate sequence in the right order — each step has its own clock

The steps of the probate process follow a logic that becomes clearer once you’ve done it. The first time through, the sequencing trips people up.

The petition and appointment: You file a petition with the probate court in the county where the deceased lived, attaching the will and the death certificate. The court schedules a hearing. Assuming nobody objects, the judge issues letters testamentary, the document proving you have legal authority to act on behalf of the estate. Without those letters, banks won’t talk to you. Nobody will. Carry copies.
Notification: Once appointed, you must notify beneficiaries, heirs, and creditors. Some states require publication in a local newspaper. The notice triggers a window during which creditors must file claims, often four to six months. Once that window closes, late claims generally can’t be pursued.
Inventory and appraisal: You catalog all probate assets and assign a date-of-death value to each. Real estate needs a formal appraisal; tax assessments don’t count. Brokerage accounts use closing prices on the date of death. Valuable personal property typically needs professional valuation. The inventory usually has to be filed with the court within 60 to 90 days of your appointment, depending on the state.
Paying debts and taxes: Funeral expenses and administration costs come first, followed by secured debts, taxes, and unsecured debts, in the order your state’s statute prescribes. You’ll likely need to file the deceased’s final personal income tax return (Form 1040), an income tax return for the estate if it earned income above the threshold during administration (Form 1041), and, if applicable, a federal estate tax return (Form 706). For deaths in 2026, the federal estate tax applies only to estates above roughly $15 million. About a dozen states impose their own estate or inheritance taxes at lower thresholds, so don’t assume you’re clear just because you’re below the federal line.
Distribution and closing: Only after debts and taxes are settled, and the creditor claim period has fully expired, can you distribute what remains. You’ll prepare a final accounting, get it approved by the court or all beneficiaries, distribute the assets, and formally close the estate. Skip the last step and you remain on the hook indefinitely.

Each phase has its own clock. Miss one and the rest cascade.

Tip #3: Know how to handle the complications that appear in almost every estate

Cookie-cutter estates barely exist. Most have some wrinkle that turns the process from a straight line into a maze.

Real estate in multiple states: If the deceased owned property in another state, you’ll likely need a second probate proceeding there, called ancillary probate. Some states allow simplified procedures for out-of-state owners. Others don’t. Property held in a revocable trust skips this entirely, which is one reason trusts are so often recommended for people who own real estate in more than one state.
A family business: Business interests are hard to value, hard to sell quickly, and often have operating agreements that restrict transfers. If the deceased was running the business, somebody needs to make decisions about payroll, suppliers, and customers while the legal piece works itself out. Buy-sell agreements, if they exist, become critical reading.
Blended families: A second marriage with children from prior relationships creates competing claims that the will may not have anticipated clearly. Even when everyone likes each other, the math creates tension. Probate doesn’t cause these tensions. It just provides them with a venue.
A contested will: Someone files a contest alleging undue influence, lack of capacity, or improper execution. The estate is frozen, distributions stop, legal fees climb, and even most failed contests cost the estate months and significant money to defend.
An out-of-state executor: Some states require non-resident executors to post a bond or appoint a local agent. If you’re named and you live three states away, factor this in before accepting the role.

In any of these situations, involve a probate attorney early, even if you handle most of the administration yourself. The hourly rate is real money. The cost of doing it wrong is meaningfully higher.

Tip #4: Avoid the mistakes that executors make in almost every estate

Moving too fast on distributions: A beneficiary asks for their share before the creditor window closes, and the executor writes the check to keep the peace. Then a $40,000 medical claim is filed two months later, and there isn’t enough left to cover it. The executor is personally liable. Not the beneficiary who received the early payment.
Letting beneficiaries fill the information vacuum: Probate is slow even when it’s going well. Beneficiaries who don’t hear from the executor start assuming the worst. Send a brief update every month or two. Three sentences is enough. That single habit prevents more disputes than almost anything else.
Trying to be the favorite: Even if you’re both executor and beneficiary, your fiduciary duty runs to the estate as a whole. Cutting a sibling a slightly larger check or letting a brother take a car for a family rate are breaches, sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle, but breaches all the same.
Mixing personal and estate funds: Even a $200 reimbursement run through your personal checking account looks bad in an audit. Every dollar in and out should run through the estate account.
Undervaluing assets to reduce estate tax: It has a hidden cost. Lower valuations reduce the stepped-up basis beneficiaries inherit, meaning they pay more in capital gains when they eventually sell. You’re just moving the bill to a different family member and a different decade.
Forgetting to formally close the estate: Until you file the final accounting and receive the discharge order, you remain on the legal hook. Years later, when a forgotten creditor surfaces or a beneficiary changes their mind, you’re still the responsible party.
Skipping written communication: Verbal agreements with beneficiaries fade. Get a receipt for every distribution. Have beneficiaries sign acknowledgments. Document the reasoning behind judgment calls. The paperwork feels like overkill until the day you need it.
Underestimating the emotional load: Executors are usually grieving the same person whose estate they’re administering. Decisions get made through a fog. Build in pauses. Don’t sign anything significant on a bad day.

Tip #5: Use this checklist to track what needs to happen and when

Within the first 2 weeks

Locate the original will and any codicils
Order ten or more certified death certificates
Secure the home, vehicles, and valuable personal property; forward mail
Notify Social Security, Veterans Administration if applicable, and pension administrators
Locate recent tax returns, bank statements, brokerage statements, and insurance policies
Take a quick inventory of identifiable digital accounts

Within the first 30 to 60 days

File the petition for probate in the appropriate county
Apply for the estate’s EIN through the IRS
Open an estate checking account
Notify beneficiaries and known creditors in writing
Begin asset inventory with appraisal arrangements for real estate and valuable property
Cancel or transfer subscriptions and recurring charges
Notify the three major credit bureaus

Within 60 to 90 days

File the formal inventory with the court
Publish notice to creditors if your state requires it
Review and respond to creditor claims
File the deceased’s final personal income tax return

Months 3 through 9

Pay valid creditor claims in statutory priority order
Manage estate assets – maintain real estate, keep insurance current
File the estate income tax return (Form 1041) if applicable
Sell assets if necessary to generate cash for debts or taxes
Update beneficiaries at regular intervals

Before final distribution

Confirm all creditor claim periods have expired
Reconcile the estate account
Prepare the final accounting
Obtain written consent from beneficiaries or court approval

Closing

Distribute remaining assets per the will
Obtain signed receipts from all beneficiaries
File the final report with the court
Request your discharge as executor
Keep all records for at least seven years

What to do before you’re the one in the chair

The work of making probate easier for the people you love happens while you’re still here to do it.

Review your beneficiary designations regularly. Assets with named beneficiaries, including retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death bank accounts, and jointly titled real estate with survivorship rights, bypass probate entirely. Old beneficiary forms have caused more inheritance disputes than poorly drafted wills, partly because the form controls regardless of what the will says. Review them every few years and after every major life event.

Choose your executor with intent. Naming your oldest child by default isn’t a strategy. Executors need patience, organizational competence, and enough emotional bandwidth to handle conflict without escalating it. Sometimes that’s your oldest child. Sometimes it’s a professional fiduciary. Birth order doesn’t enter into it.

Document while you’re alive. A simple letter of instruction kept with your will, explaining where things are, what the passwords are, which advisors you use, and where the safe deposit box key is kept. This single document, updated annually, saves your executor weeks of work.

A fiduciary financial advisor who works with you year after year can spot contradictions before they become problems. They’re the ones who notice that your trust still names a deceased sibling as backup trustee, or that the beneficiary on your 401(k) hasn’t been updated since 1998. An estate plan that looks airtight on paper can still create problems if it doesn’t match the underlying account titling and beneficiary forms.

Consider connecting with a fiduciary financial advisor who can review your estate plan alongside your retirement and investment strategy. Our financial advisor directory can help you find vetted professionals who can help manage your estate.

Frequently asked questions on how to probate a will

1. How long does probate typically take?

For an uncontested estate of moderate complexity, expect six to twelve months. Simple estates in efficient states can close in four to six months. Contested wills, multi-state property, or complex business interests routinely run eighteen months or longer. The creditor claim period, typically three to six months, is usually the longest single delay.

2. Are all assets subject to probate?

No. Assets pass outside probate if they have a named beneficiary, are held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, are titled in a revocable living trust, or carry a payable-on-death designation. Only assets owned solely in the deceased’s name without a beneficiary designation go through probate.

3. Can an executor be held personally liable?

Yes. Executors are fiduciaries and can be sued personally for breaches of duty, including distributing assets before paying debts, failing to file required tax returns, mismanaging investments, or self-dealing. Following the prescribed sequence carefully and documenting everything is the best protection.

4. What happens if there is no will?

The estate is called intestate, and state law decides who inherits through intestate succession, typically spouse and children first, then parents, then siblings. The court appoints an administrator and the process resembles standard probate. The difference is that you follow statutory defaults rather than the deceased’s actual wishes, and those defaults rarely match what most people would have chosen.