Can Probate Take Years?

Posted by smith clea on October 1st, 2022

Probate is the legal process that handles the estate of a deceased person.

It's not uncommon for probate to take years, but you can speed up the process by hiring a good attorney who knows how to work with the courts and navigate them effectively.

In this article, we'll discuss what happens during probate and why it can take so long or even never happen at all!

It Can Take Years.

It depends on the complexity of the case and your relationship with your family members. 

If there are issues that need to be resolved before probate can be granted, then it could take even longer than expected.

If you are in a rush to settle, you may want to hire an attorney instead of doing it yourself.

Because they will charge less than what a solo practitioner would charge and they will do their best to resolve things quickly.

So, that they don't end up costing you money later on down the road due to delays caused by complications during the litigation process.

 

The Courts Get Thousands Of Probate Cases Every Year

 

You might be surprised to learn that the courts don't have enough resources to deal with all of the probate cases that come in.

The U.S. judicial system is understaffed and underfunded, which means that there aren't enough judges or lawyers available to hear all these cases.

The problem is especially bad for probate judges because each of them must handle an average of 250 new probate cases each year many more than they can handle effectively!

Probate can take anywhere from a few months to years, depending on the complexity of your case and the strength of your relationship with your family members.

If you have a good relationship with them, it will likely be faster. If you don't, it could take longer.

In order to determine whether probate will take long or short time periods, we need to consider several factors:

  • Age/health status.
  • Financial situation.
  • Relationships between parties involved in the estate (i.e., spouse/children).
  • whether there are any assets that need to be transferred prior to closing out accounts such as bank accounts or retirement accounts etc.

If any one area is more important than another then it may mean that there's something else happening with respect to their estate planning needs.

So, I recommend speaking directly with an attorney who specializes in this field before making any decisions about what action should be taken next.

Probate Can Be Complicated And Time Consuming, But It Doesn't Have To Be.

Probate can be complicated and time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be.

Probate is the process of transferring property from one person to another after their death.

The probate court handles all of this, which means that you'll have an attorney on your side who will guide you through every step of the process.

The length of time that probate takes depends on several factors:

  • Whether or not there are joint owners (like spouses).
  • How many heirs there are?
  • What type(s) of assets they're trying to transfer (e.g., real estate)?

Conclusion

The probate process can is complicated and time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be.

The law is there to protect your interests in a case.

So, if you want to avoid probate altogether, it's important that you get help from an attorney who understands the process and makes out estate planning carefully.

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smith clea

About the Author

smith clea
Joined: February 6th, 2020
Articles Posted: 113

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