Free tool

Do I need probate?

Probate is the court process for transferring what someone owned when they die. Plenty of estates skip it entirely. Whether this one needs it depends on how things were owned, not on how much they were worth. Answer three questions.

This is general information, not legal advice. Probate is state law and the details vary. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you select is sent anywhere or saved.

Did they own real estate — a house, land, or a share of one?No real estateYes, but it was jointly owned with someone still living, in a living trust, or had a transfer-on-death deedYes, in their name alone (or as tenants in common with no survivorship)I’m not sure how it was owned

Their money — bank, investment, and retirement accounts, and life insurance. Was any of it in their name alone with no named beneficiary and no joint owner?No — everything had a named beneficiary, a payable-on-death person, or a joint ownerYes — some was in their name alone with nobody named to receive itI’m not sure who was named

Your answer

Answer the first two questions on the left and your answer will appear here.

Your state, exactly

This tells you whether probate applies. For your state’s small-estate dollar threshold, the simplified procedure that may replace full probate, and what it typically costs and takes, use the Probate Cost & Timeline Estimator.

Open the estimator →

Probate, explained without the jargon

Payable-on-death accounts

Do you need a living trust?

What happens to a jointly owned house