Probate court

What it means

Probate court is where a will is filed, an executor or administrator is appointed, and the settling of an estate is overseen. In some states the same court also handles guardianship and conservatorship.

It is usually a county court rather than a state-wide one, and the county is normally the one where the person lived.

Its name varies widely. Surrogate's Court, Orphans' Court, Chancery Court, Circuit Court and Superior Court are all probate courts in one state or another.

Why it matters

Filing in the wrong county, or the wrong court within a county, is a common and avoidable delay.

Practice differs court to court in ways that state law does not describe — local forms, filing fees and hearing schedules are set by the court itself.

When you are likely to meet it

• When opening an estate.
• When an institution refuses to act without letters from a court.
• When a dispute about a will has to be raised somewhere.

How this varies by state

The name of the court, which county has authority, and whether probate is supervised by a judge or handled administratively are all set by state law.

Below is how the states Sahvelo has published describe it, in their own words, each linked to the guide that sources it.

Related terms

• AdministratorThe person a court appoints to handle an estate when there is no will, or no usable executor.
• Certified copyA copy issued by the office that holds the original, carrying a seal or stamp that says so. A photocopy is not one.
• ConservatorshipA court appointing somebody to manage the money and property of an adult who cannot manage it themselves.
• DomicileThe one state a person legally belongs to, where they intend to remain. It decides where the estate is administered and which state's law governs their personal property.
• Elective shareA surviving spouse's right to claim a minimum portion of the estate, even if the will leaves them less or nothing.
• ExecutorThe person named in a will to carry it out — once a court actually appoints them.
• Family allowanceMoney a court may allow a surviving spouse and dependent children to draw from the estate while it is being settled, ahead of most creditors.
• Formal administrationProbate supervised by a judge, with petitions, notice and hearings. It is the default in some states and the fallback everywhere.
• GuardianshipA court appointing somebody to make decisions for an adult who cannot make them, usually about care, housing and medical treatment.
• Independent administrationAdministering an estate without the court supervising each step — and it is granted in opposite ways in different states.
• Informal probateProbate handled administratively by a court official rather than by a judge, where nobody is contesting anything.
• Interested personAnybody the law says has a stake in an estate — an heir, a beneficiary, a creditor, sometimes a fiduciary. It decides who gets told and who may object.
• Letters of administrationThe court document proving somebody has been appointed to handle an estate where there is no will.
• 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.
• ProbateThe court process that confirms who has authority to deal with what somebody owned when they died.
• Release from administrationA court order that ends an estate instead of opening one.
• RenunciationDeclining an appointment as executor. It is always allowed, and it is done in writing.
• Self-proving affidavitA sworn statement attached to a will, signed by the witnesses in front of a notary, so that a court can accept the will without tracking them down.
• Set-asideA court order handing a small estate straight to the family without any administration.
• Special administratorSomebody appointed to do one urgent thing before a full appointment exists.
• Special proceedingA court case built to be decided quickly, used where waiting for an ordinary lawsuit would defeat the point.
• Statutory citationThe reference that says exactly where in a state's law a rule is written — the abbreviation, the section number and the subsection.
• Summary administrationA shortened court procedure for smaller or simpler estates, with fewer steps and less supervision than full administration.
• Voluntary administratorSomebody allowed to settle a small estate without being formally appointed — with less power than the title suggests.
• Will contestA formal challenge to whether a will is valid, brought in the probate court by somebody who would be affected if it were not.
• Year's supportAn award to a surviving spouse and minor children that comes off the top of the estate, ahead of creditors.
• LettersThe court's certificate that somebody has been appointed to act for an estate: letters testamentary when there is a will, letters of administration when there is not.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Do I need probate?
• Do you need a probate lawyer?