When you die, a section of law known as estate and probate law governs how your assets are distributed. Someone who dies (known as the “decedent”) with a legitimate will has set up what is known as a ...

The neighbor, Joann, was a widow with no children. Joann's will specified that all of her assets would go to Sarah's dad and ...

Each state follows its own formula for distributing assets in the absence of a will. Surviving spouses and children may receive different proportions of the estate depending on jurisdiction, sometimes ...

Finding a valid will years later begs the question: is it too late? Let's imagine Sarah. While going through some old papers, ...

Probate is the administrative process used to move official ownership of a deceased person’s possessions, known as assets, to other people. When someone dies having signed a valid will, the probate ...

The probate process in Pennsylvania varies based upon whether an individual dies having a Last Will and Testament. If someone dies having executed a valid Will that was in existence at the time of ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Marguerita is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor ...