Probate is a court procedure by which assets belonging to a decedent are collected and administered by the decedent's personal representative and transferred by the personal representative to the beneficiaries named in the decedent's Will. The personal representative is also responsible to pay the liabilities of the decedent from the probate assets.

One advantage of probate is that when a notice to creditors is published, all debts and liabilities of the decedent are terminated with respect to creditors who fail to file a claim against the estate within the four month period. Another advantage of probate is that the probate court can resolve any disputes involving the decedent's estate and disposition of its assets.

A probate proceeding is public record. Anyone can examine the probate court's file, including the inventory of probate assets. Probate also takes time, typically six months or more. Probate can also be expensive. Attorney’s fees and costs are usually several thousand dollars.

Whether assets will be subject to probate depends on several factors. The following types of property are not included in a decedent's probate estate and therefore do not have to be administered through a court probate process:

• Property that is held in trust.
• Property owned as joint tenants with right of survivorship or community property with right of survivorship.
• Real Property subject to a “beneficiary deed.”
• Property that is held by a third party that passes to one or more designated beneficiaries by virtue of a contract such as life insurance proceeds, retirement plan assets subject to a valid beneficiary designation and financial institution "pay on death" accounts.

Even if the assets are subject to probate, a probate is not required if the total value of all of the personal property (anything but land) in the estate is under $50,000, and the total value of all of the real property (land), based on the property tax assessed value on any mortgage and/or liens, is less than $75,000. In such cases, legal affidavit forms can be used to “collect” the assets.