Probate handles asset distribution post-death; having a will simplifies this process. Assign beneficiaries for assets like life insurance to bypass probate. Creating a trust can avoid probate, ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She ...

Next Avenue recently asked readers to tell us the estate planning questions they’d like us to answer. We’re now back with the experts’ views on the top question on your mind, plus — as a bonus — their ...

Definition of Formal Probate Formal probate is a court-supervised process where the validity of a deceased person's will is determined and their assets are distributed. It's often used when the ...