Probate of a Will

What is Probate?
Probate is the process where after death the instructions of the Will are carried out. Will is admitted to Probate in the County Surrogate. Some people refer to the Surrogate as the Will Clerk. Upon the death of the testator or testatrix (maker of the Will), the probate procedure can begin. This is the legal process which establishes the genuineness of the Will. It is done by the Surrogate in the county where the testator or testatrix resided at the time of death.
The probate application must contain the following information:
1. the applicant's residence;

2. the name, domicile and date of death of the decedent;

3. the names and addresses of the decedent's spouse, heirs (those entitled to take under the laws of interstate succession), and any person named to serve as Executor;

4. the ages of any minor heirs; and

5. the names of the testator's children when the Will was made and the names of children born and adopted after the Will was made, or their children, if any.
To minimize time spent in the Surrogate, it is recommended, and in some counties required, that before an Executor submits the Will for probate the executors attorney or executor send the Court:
1) a "data sheet" (referred to in some counties as an "information sheet" or a "fact sheet") containing the information needed by the Surrogate to complete the application;
2) a copy of the Will; and
3) a copy of the death certificate.

FILING A PROBATE APPLICATION Upon the death of a person, a probate proceeding may be commenced by offering the decedent's (the dead person's ) last Will for probate in the Surrogate's Court of the county in which the decedent was domiciled at death. R. 4:80-1(a). Generally, the Executor nominated in the Will brings the proceeding by filing a verified application with the Court.
www.centraljerseyelderlaw.com

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Probate
• of
• Will