Why is probate required?

Probate may seem like little more than a time-consuming and expensive endeavor, but there are many important reasons it exists. The purpose of probate is to protect the assets in an estate and ensure they go to the right beneficiaries or heirs while also ensuring creditors and taxes are paid. Probate is also designed to make sure a will is valid and the decedent’s true wishes are followed.

Here are the most important things that probate accomplishes and why it’s required:

• Legally transfers title or ownership of property and assets to beneficiaries and heirs. This ensures beneficiaries receive a clear title and no one can take out a mortgage or otherwise dispose of the property.
• Ensures taxes owed by the decedent and/or the estate are paid, including taxes that become due when property in the estate is transferred.
• Offers creditors an avenue for having debts paid. Probate creates a deadline for creditors to file claims. This protects beneficiaries and heirs from future claims and ensures debts are paid before assets are distributed to heirs and beneficiaries.
• Safeguards assets to make sure they go to the beneficiaries and heirs. Otherwise, the property could be easily stolen or sold.
• Ensures property and assets are distributed to the right people or organizations according to the decedent’s wishes.

Probate can also avoid a variety of issues that may come up after someone dies. For example, it ensures beneficiaries are legally able to receive the assets they should receive and makes sure that the will is valid.

Note that not all assets need to go through probate and probate isn’t necessary for all estates. This legal process can be avoided in many ways with different ownership and title options, for example, directly passing property and assets to heirs and beneficiaries without court oversight.