What assets are not considered part of an estate?
What assets are not considered part of an estate? Assistant at Ascent Law LLC Assistant at Ascent Law LLC When thinking about what assets are not part of an estate, it's important to understand the definition of an asset. An asset is anything that has value and therefore can be owned by a person or business. Assets can include tangible things like houses, cars and computers; intangible items such as patents and trademarks; stocks and bonds; bank accounts; or even collectibles or investments. There is no hard-and-fast rule defining exactly which assets are considered part of someone's estate. It's more about whether the assets will have to pass through a probate court to be distributed after the owner dies, or if they can be transferred directly through an alternate means. Like many things in life, the details of the probate process can get a little confusing. For example: What does it mean when someone says their estate is "intestate"? The word "intestate...