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Probate court

A probate court is a court of limited jurisdiction that hears matters surrounding a person's death. For example, probate courts oversee the distribution of dead peoples' assets according to their wills and direct the distribution of dead peoples' assets if they die without a will.

Some probate courts also hear petitions to declare people incompetent and oversee guardians or conservators. Other jurisdictions leave these matters to family courts.

Probate courts are governed by state and local law. Some jurisdictions have surrogate courts instead of probate courts.

See Estate Planning; Estates and Trusts; State probate laws.

Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary

A specialized court or division of a state trial court that considers cases concerning the distribution of deceased persons' property and the appointment of guardians for children or adults who need care and supervision. Called "surrogate's court" in New York and several other states, this court normally examines the authenticity of a will or, if a person dies without a will (intestate), figures out who inherits under state law. It then oversees a procedure to pay the deceased person's debts and to distribute the assets to the proper inheritors. (See also: probate)

Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.

August 19, 2010, 5:22 pm

 

After Roberta's death, a probate court examined her valuable papers and determined that she left no valid will.  Robert was thus found to have died intestate.  Due to this finding of intestacy, the state's laws on intestate succession would determine which of Roberta's heirs could claim title to her house.

At the time of death, Roberta was not married and had no children.  Under the intestacy rules in Roberta's state, "[t]he property of a person who dies ab intestato without a spouse and children shall be transferred to the state, unless heirs can be found from the following list, in which case the first available set of heirs takes the property: parents, siblings of whole blood or their issue, half-siblings or their issue, grandparents, uncles and aunts of the whole blood, uncles and aunts of half blood."

Roberta's nephew inherited her house because he was the sole issue of Roberta's only sibling, who was herself no longer alive at the time of Roberta's death.