David M. Frees IIII Wills * Trusts * Estates* Asset Protection
Law Offices in Malvern, Phoenixville, and West Chester Pennsylvania Serving: Chester County, Montgomery County, As well as Berks, Bucks, and Lancaster Counties.
Many clients ask us what probate is and how to get started.
First, be sure to make a careful search for the will and make sure that it is the most up to date will. Probating the wrong will is a mistake that can be very costly.
Next, you need to be sure that you even have to probate the will. If all of the assets are either owned jointly, or are distributed under beneficiary designations, probate may be unnecessary.
But, if you have determine, that you are the executor, that you have the right will, and that it needs to be probated, then you should become an educated consumer and know what the probate system means and how it works.
One of my partners, Douglas Kaune, recently published a great article on how to get started in the probate of a Pennyslvania will.