It’s easy to create a plan to pass financial accounts directly to heirs before you die and avoid the probate process after death. All you have to do is complete a form from your financial institution ...

Inheritance Funding reports the average estate settlement takes 6-12 months, but debts and disputes can extend the process to ...

Probate is the legal process through which a deceased person's estate is managed and distributed. When someone passes away, their assets, which include properties, possessions, and finances, are not ...

Most people have the wrong idea about probate, and don't fear it enough to do something to avoid it My mom died just over a year ago, and I'm still knee-deep in probate. I'm barely average. The ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Matthew F. Erskine is a trusts and estates attorney. Probate Law: Judge's Gavel as a symbol of legal system, Themis is the goddess ...

The probate process gets a bad reputation, but it’s the reality many families will face, and it’s a process that can function well for some small estates. [Read: How to Prepare to Be an Executor of an ...