Learn how probate validates a will, settles debts, and distributes assets to heirs under court supervision. and how state intestacy laws work when there's no will.

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Charlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society committee, and has a ...

Probate Initiation: An interested party, often a family member or creditor, petitions the probate court to open an intestate estate. Appointment of Administrator: The court appoints an administrator ...

Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and ...

Financial planning means giving thought to how you want to manage your investments and other assets during your lifetime. But it also means taking a longer view and considering what will happen to ...

Probate is the court procedure of proving a will after someone (the decedent) who has completed his or her last will and testament dies. If you have a will and pass away, you have passed away testate ...

Losing a loved one is one of life’s most difficult moments. When that person also left behind no will, the grief quickly ...

Intestate is a legal term used to describe the state of an individual who passes away without leaving a valid will or when the will presented to a court is deemed invalid. In an intestate, the laws of ...

What really happens without a will in place Dying without a will means state laws decide who inherits your assets — not you. Probate courts follow intestacy rules to distribute property, often ...

Grace is Money editor at Which?, on the hunt for ways to help people save with smart tips and deals. She was named personal finance journalist of the year 2025. When someone dies without a will, their ...