Waiver of notice
A signed form in which somebody entitled to be told about a court step agrees they do not need to be told.
What it means
Probate runs on notice: people with an interest are entitled to hear that something is about to happen. A waiver is how a family that agrees skips the wait and the hearing.
It is usually paired with a consent, which goes further and says the signer positively agrees to the appointment being asked for.
Why it matters
In several states an informal or unsupervised appointment stays informal only while everybody signs. One refusal turns it into a hearing, with the cost and delay that follow.
Signing a waiver is not the same as approving what the executor later does; it waives the notice, not the accounting.
When you are likely to meet it
- When the person applying to be appointed sends you a form before filing.
- Where a state requires the written consent of everybody with equal or higher priority.
- Before an informal probate can proceed without a hearing.
How this varies by state
Whether a waiver is required, and from whom, is set by each state's appointment procedure.