Why Does Probate Take So Long?
Why does probate take so long?
Probate is a necessary part of the court system, but it can seem unnecessarily drawn out or complex to those who haven't had to deal with it before. The main reason for this is that probate is based on what's known as a "frozen account," which means that the beneficiary of an estate can't access any of the assets until the probate process is complete. With that in mind, you might wonder: why does a probate take so long? The answer is fairly simple: more often than not, there are more assets than were initially accounted for, and each asset has to be dealt with individually. When you die, your estate goes through two main phases: administration and distribution. Administration occurs first, before distribution; it's when all of your assets go through probate—and this includes everything from bank accounts to retirement plans to life insurance policies—so that their value can be determined, debts can be paid off, and all beneficiaries can be identified. Once all of these things have happened, the assets are frozen until they're distributed. During distribution, everything that was frozen in the administration phase gets sent along to your beneficiaries as agreed-upon shares of your estate.
If you have any questions or need a Probate Lawyer, please call this law firm for a free consultation.
Ascent Law LLC
8833 S Redwood Road Suite C
West Jordan UT 84088
(801) 676-5506
