Idaho Law Blog
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney
I’m often asked by my Estate Planning clients what the steps in Probate include. I find it helpful for my clients when I explain the process and help them understand the six basic steps involved in a Probate. Here are those steps:
1. Petition for Probate
The first step in the Probate process is filing the Petition to Probate. This is true regardless of whether there is a Last Will and Testament or the decedent died intestate. The petition for probate identifies the person who passed away, identifies the person who is seeking the appointment as the Personal Representative, and provides additional information concerning the estate for the Court to review. Once the Petition is filed, the Court reviews the petition and then moves on to step number 2.
2. Obtaining the Appointment of a Personal Representative
If all the statutory requirements are met, the Court then issues an order appointing the Personal Representative to the estate. The appointment of the Personal Representative is an order or an official document of the Court signed by the judge that identifies who the Personal Representative is. In addition to the appointment, the court also usually issues what are known as Letters Testamentary which are documents that have an official court stamp on them that a Personal Representative can use in administering the estate with third parties. The letters testamentary act as proof of the appointment of the Personal Representative.
3. Notifying Creditors
Once the Personal Representative is appointed they move on to the next step in the probate process, which is to notify creditors. A personal representative notifies creditors by publishing a Notice to Creditors in the local newspaper. Most people would recognize this as the probate notices in the classified sections. Most states have a specific statute dealing with notifying creditors by publication. The statutes require the notice to be published and then give creditors a certain period of time in which to make their claims with the estate, or be forever cut off. This provides for an orderly administration of creditors claims in a probate.
4. Inventorying the Estate
Once creditors have been notified the next step in the process is to inventory the assets of the estate. What’s this simply means is to create a list of property that was owned by the person on the day that they died. This inventory is often filed with the court so that a record of the assets are contained in the probate records.
5. Paying or Litigating the Claims of Creditors
By having a list of the assets and property the decedent own when they died the personal representative is prepared to move on with the next step which is to pay creditors claims. This is really an oversimplification of the process because a personal representative can in fact challenge the claim of a creditor which could force litigation requiring the Creditor to prove and or provide evidence of the debt they claim is owed by the decedent.
Processing creditors claims is vitally important because it protects the heirs of an estate from being defrauded. If the personal representative does not feel that a creditor’s claim is valid the Creditor is forced to produce evidence supporting the claim in front of the court allowing a judge to evaluate the claim and determine its validity.
6. Distributing Assets to Heirs and Closing the Estate
The final step in the probate process is for the Personal Representative to distribute the assets to the heirs. This is done either under the direction of the decedent’s Last Will and Testament, or through the Intestate statutes when a decedent does not have a valid Will. When the assets have all been distributed the Personal Representative usually provides a report to the court and petitions the court to close the probate.
These are the basic steps of completing a probate in the state of Idaho. If you have any questions or concerns about this probate process feel free to contact us so that we can answer any questions that you might have. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Estate Planning attorneys in Idaho. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lve@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Estate Planning questions and will help you solve your Idaho Estate Planning problems.
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