Why Probate Takes So Long and How to Speed It Up

In general terms, probate is a judicial process where a court of law (i) appoints a personal representative of a decedent’s estate and empowers the representative with authority to marshal in the decedent’s assets and have them appraised; (ii) oversees notice to, and payment of, creditors of the decedent; and (iii) “approves” a decedent’s will and the beneficiaries thereof, or determines successors in interest (when a decedent dies without a Will), and authorizes distribution of any remaining assets accordingly....