Often our clients will ask why is it necessary that they obtain probate and incur all of the expense, headache and effort that it entails. A lot of our practice as Will and Estate Lawyers is geared towards estate planning so as to avoid the necessity of probate upon the death of the willmaker. However sometimes probate is a beneficial process, aside from those circumstances in which the bank or other institution holding the willmaker’s assets insist upon it. Occasionally the executor of their own accord should be seeking probate. To remind everyone, probate is the process by which a court certifies a document as being the last Will of the willmaker and further appoints someone as the estate trustee also known as the executor. Obtaining probate confirms the executor’s authority. The executor is fully authorized to administer the terms of the Will. Another important aspect of obtaining probate is it protects the executor from a claim by a beneficiary of a later discovered Will from claiming that you should never have recognized the first Will, and that there is another valid Will out there. In essence, once the court certifies the Will i.e. by the granting of a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee commonly referred to as probate, the executor has been formally appointed by the court and has all of the formal authority it entails. It is not the executor’s fault if a different Will is put forward. Everyone can rest upon the authority granted by the court, including the executor from a later unhappy party. Wills and Probate Lawyers who have experience can guide their clients accordingly.
PROBATE – WHY SOMETIMES YOU WANT IT
