When we lose a loved one there are a lot of questions that we ask. One of them is what happens to all of the deceased’s belongings.
It’s important to find out if the person had a will when he or she died, spelling out what he wanted done with his estate. Sometimes when going through a person’s belongings in their home you might find paperwork which says that the person had a will. There should be an attorney named on the paperwork that you can call to get more information and find out who the executor of the estate is.
Generally speaking, when someone creates a will, he will choose an executor of his estate and give the will to his attorney. The executor will have to contact the attorney at the time of the loved one’s passing to request a copy of the will.
When There Is No Known Will
But what happens if there is no known will, or nobody knows who the executor of the will and the attorney are? If you can’t find out what happened to the estate of a person who passed away and you believe there’s a possibility that you could be owed property, then you will have to go through probate court in the district where the deceased resided at the time of his or her death.
If there was no will, there will still be a matter of going through probate court. There will be an intestate succession where the property will be passed through beneficiaries based on the laws of the state where the deceased resides. This will be a matter of public record so it’s something that anyone should have access to, likely for a small court fee.
In the absence of a will, or even with a will, some property will not pass through probate. Any property that is jointly owned at the time of death will automatically transfer over to the other owner of that property. This means if someone owned a house or vehicle with the deceased, then the property now becomes the sole possession of the joint owner of that property.
In the case of life insurance policies for example, those usually have a named beneficiary. The person who is named on the life insurance policy will receive that money and it will not go through probate like the rest of the estate that is named on a will or that someone owned.
Property that is jointly owned or with a named beneficiary will transfer to a trust and therefore is not subject to probate either. And because of this they also may not be traceable as they are not public record like the items that have to go through probate court.
It’s smart to have a will before you pass so the estate can be divided up as you would see fit. But even without a will, the estate will most likely go through probate and the public will be made aware of which family members are entitled to an inheritance from the deceased.
