Can probate delays be avoided? Personal representatives, such as executors and administrators, play a key role in avoiding probate delays. These people are responsible for managing the estate, which ...

What is probate, and how does it work? When a loved one passes away, their finances, property and personal belongings don’t automatically transfer to family members. A formal, court-managed process ...

Q. I was told that unlike wills, a trust doesn’t require probate and is not taxable. My main asset is a house that I want to pass on to my son. Would a living trust help? — Planning A. We’re glad ...

Some of the most valuable documents for genealogy are wills and the documents related to the legal process of administering a person's property after their death. This process is called probate. If ...

Did your father give you a nominal bequest but gave his favorite daughter the bulk of the estate? Were you bequeathed the family dog and $10,000, but your mother’s boyfriend of six months was to ...

My mom died just over a year ago, and I’m still knee-deep in probate. I’m barely average. The typical probate process to settle a will or the estate of somebody who dies without one takes 20 months, ...