Informal probate

What it means

Informal probate is opened by application rather than by petition and hearing. A registrar or clerk reviews the paperwork and appoints the personal representative.

It is available where the will is clear, the person applying has priority to serve, and nobody has objected. Any of those can change, and the case can move to a formal footing.

It usually means less supervision throughout, not just at the start: fewer required filings and no hearings unless somebody asks for one.

Why it matters

It is far quicker and cheaper than the formal route, and it is the normal path for most uncontested estates in states that offer it.

It is also revocable in effect: an interested person can force the matter into formal proceedings later, which is why the record still has to be kept properly.

When you are likely to meet it

• When choosing how to open an estate.
• When a court's forms distinguish an application from a petition.
• When somebody objects to what has been filed.

How this varies by state

Whether a state offers informal probate, and what disqualifies an estate from it, are set by state law.

Related terms

• Formal administrationProbate supervised by a judge, with petitions, notice and hearings. It is the default in some states and the fallback everywhere.
• Independent administrationAdministering an estate without the court supervising each step — and it is granted in opposite ways in different states.
• Letters testamentaryThe court document proving that the person named in a will has actually been appointed to act.
• Muniment of titleA procedure in a few states where a will is admitted purely to prove ownership, with no executor appointed and no administration.
• Personal representativeThe neutral term for whoever is authorized to act for an estate, whether named in a will or appointed by a court.
• ProbateThe court process that confirms who has authority to deal with what somebody owned when they died.
• Probate courtThe court that supervises estates. In many states it is a division of a general trial court and goes by another name.
• Summary administrationA shortened court procedure for smaller or simpler estates, with fewer steps and less supervision than full administration.
• Waiver of noticeA signed form in which somebody entitled to be told about a court step agrees they do not need to be told.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Do I need probate?