When someone dies, they leave affairs that need to be addressed, children and pets to be cared for, assets to be transferred, and businesses to be wrapped up. There is any number of ways to avoid the need for probate administration.

But if a family member or loved one dies without having taken advantage of those options, the courts of the county where the decedent resided when he or she passed away are charged with the administration of the decedent’s estate. Formal administration deals with estates that have $75,000 or more of non-exempt assets. A summary administration is a little less expensive and faster to resolve and can be used where the non-exempt assets are below $75,000 or when the decedent passed away over two years ago.

If a probate administration is needed, it will not matter whether the decedent had a will or died without one – the latter circumstance being referred to as an intestate estate. If a person has been nominated in a will to serve as the personal representative, he or she will need to petition the court to be appointed as such.

If there is no will, someone will need to petition for an appointment by the court. The probate process is somewhat tedious, so we assist you in doing the heavy lifting. We prepare the documents, tell you specifically what to do at each stage of the administration, and file all of the paperwork to make your job as easy as possible.