Hudson Valley Estate Planning Law Firm Video FAQs
What is probate court?
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If you have to go to probate court, you will be appearing in front of a surrogate court judge, and the issue is normally whether a will is valid and a person’s assets are to be distributed according to their plan.
So the judge decides that, and the person who brings the will to the probate court is the executor and that person notifies the heirs at law. Those are the people who would take under the law if there was no will. So these are the interested parties, these are the family members, the sons the daughters, the husband and wife. If there is a will that’s being probated, they have an interest in what that will says and making sure that the decedent’s wishes are carried out.
Usually, it’s best to contact a lawyer to help prepare the paperwork that goes on with probating a will because it can be complicated. Even just figuring out who the heirs are and who needs to be notified is important. So we’ve been doing this for over 140 years and we have a lot of experience in the area of probating a will.
