Discipline
Law and the Estate
Every estate is a small legal machine: property that must be gathered, debts that must be settled, and what remains passed on under a set of rules that vary by state. This discipline teaches that machine from the idea of an estate through the mechanics of probate to the hard cases, so that whether you are writing a will now or administering one after a death, you understand the same system from both ends.
You will be able to tell whether an estate needs probate, read a will for what it actually directs, and carry out an executor's duties in the order a court expects.
The topics
Instruments
Objects you carry to a bank, a court, or a phone call.
- The Estate LedgerStructured in the shape courts generally expect of a final accounting, so the record is ready to adapt to your court's format.
- Letters That CompelFills from your answers, prints clean, and shows beneath it the rule the letter stands on, so you can see why it carries weight.
- Do I Need ProbatePoints to likely no probate, a small estate route, or full probate, and names that thresholds are set by statute.
- What Skips ProbateTeaches in seconds the one idea that clears up much of the confusion families carry into probate.
Primary sources
Every statute, form, and agency cited here. When in doubt, trust these over anyone, including us.
Government
- USAGov: Dealing with the death of a loved oneThe federal government's own index of which agencies must be told and what each one needs, which sits alongside probate rather than inside it.opens in a new tab
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: When a loved one dies and debt collectors come callingWhat collectors may and may not say to you as personal representative, and the written validation and dispute rights you can use.opens in a new tab
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Does a person's debt go away when they dieThe federal regulator's plain statement of who is and is not responsible, including the full list of exceptions and the community property states.opens in a new tab
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What happens to my reverse mortgage when I dieThe rules this module cites on repayment after the last borrower dies, the 95 percent of appraised value option for heirs, and the protections for an eligible non-borrowing spouse.opens in a new tab
Academic
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: Probate, state lawsA table linking to the probate statutes of each state and the District of Columbia, so you can read the actual law that governs this estate rather than a summary of it.opens in a new tab
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: Nonprobate transferThe plain definition and the full list of ways property passes at death without a court, which is the fastest way to work out how much of this estate is even in question.opens in a new tab
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: Uniform Probate CodeWhat the model code covers and which states have adopted it in whole or in part, which tells you how closely your state's procedure will resemble the standard one.opens in a new tab
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: Personal representativeWhat the title means, how executor and administrator differ, and the scope of authority the Uniform Probate Code grants over estate property.opens in a new tab
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: Intestate successionThe order of priority among relatives, what escheat means, and an explicit statement that these rules vary widely between states.opens in a new tab
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: Elective shareWhat the spousal elective share protects against, the traditional one third fraction, and how the Uniform Probate Code approach differs.opens in a new tab
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: Tulsa Professional Collection Services, Inc. v. Pope, 485 U.S. 478 (1988)The full text of the Supreme Court decision requiring actual notice to known or reasonably ascertainable creditors. The holding is short and readable.opens in a new tab
Nonprofit
- American Bar Association: The probate processA short overview from the ABA's Real Property, Trust and Estate Law section, useful because it pushes back on the common claim that probate is always ruinous and slow.opens in a new tab
- American Bar Association: Guidelines for individual executors and trusteesThe clearest single account of what the role requires, written for non-lawyers serving as fiduciaries. Read the sections on investment duty, self-dealing and compensation before you act.opens in a new tab
- Uniform Law Commission: Probate Code committee pageThe official home of the model code, with the final act documents and legislative tracking, for readers who want the source text rather than a description of it.opens in a new tab
Guides on this shelf
Probate 101: what it is, and whether you need it
Twenty minutes here can save you months.
Wills & Trusts 101
Which document exists tells you which path lies ahead.
Being an Executor 101
Months of paperwork, not years of law school.
When There Is No Will 101
No will does not mean no plan.
Hospice & Comfort Care 101
Not giving up. Changing what the care is for.
Opening an estate account
This guide is being written with care.
Being a caregiver 101
This guide is being written with care.
Advance directives 101
This guide is being written with care.
What to gather now 101
This guide is being written with care.
Guides on this subject
Understanding estate administration, from the beginning
If you have been named executor, or are simply trying to close a loved one’s affairs, estate administration can feel like learning a new language. This is where to begin.
Probate, what it actually costs, how long it takes, and when you can avoid it
Probate is one of the most misunderstood parts of estate administration. This is what it actually involves, what it costs in your state, and when you can avoid it entirely.