Estates are a major area of practice at the law firm of Gibson & Mullennix. We offer many services including Estate Planning and Probate Administration, but most people don’t have a full understanding about the probate process, and why a probate is necessary. We will begin this process by outlining the two types of property involved in Estates.
When people use the term Estate that simply means a person’s belongings at the time of their death, whether it be land, vehicles, or bank accounts.
An estate typically has property in two different categories-personal property and real property. Personal property are assets such as a bank account, retirement account, vehicles, or other personal belongings. Real property involves real estate such as a home, lot, or farm land.
Estate property must be transferred through the probate process. The probate process allows for creditors to file claims against the estate and for the property to be transferred via court order so that the title may be cleared and ownership of the property be established via Court Order.
When working on Estate planning most of the time personal property like bank accounts, investment, retirement, and life insurance. You may set up beneficiaries on these accounts so it bypasses the Estate process. This is important because creditors may attach to any of the assets to pay valid claims of the estate. Further, if you tie up personal property such as a bank account then you must wait until the Estate is closed to collect the monies.
Real property must be transferred by some form of the probate process. In order to get clear title to the property a court order must be entered through the probate or one of the alternatives to the probate. Either way, in order to have clear, good and transferable title probate must be completed.
If you have any questions feel free to call us as we offer free initial consultations.