PROBATE PROCESS & ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

Understanding What Actually Happens, When It Happens, and Why It Takes Time

Probate is often described as a single legal process, but in practice, it is a sequence of required stages. Each stage depends on the verification, notice, review, or completion of the previous stage. Progress is permitted only when procedural conditions are satisfied.

Most frustration in probate does not come from conflict.
It comes from misunderstanding the sequence.

Families are frequently told what needs to be done, but not when, in what order, or why time passes even when no one is objecting. This Resource Center exists to provide that orientation, based on how probate is administered today, not how it is summarized or remembered.

Why Probate Feels Slow Even When Work Is Being Done

Probate does not move at the speed of intention.
It moves at the speed of verification.

Court filings, statutory notice periods, creditor windows, inventories, appraisals, and accountings are not optional steps. They are safeguards built into the system to protect heirs, creditors, and fiduciaries.

When one requirement is incomplete, everything downstream pauses.
Understanding this prevents silence from being mistaken for inaction.

Explore Probate Process Topics

• The Opening Phase: What Happens First
• Information Gathering and Asset Discovery
• Stopping the Estate’s Financial Bleeding
• Creditor Claims, Notice, and Waiting Periods
• Inventory and Appraisal: Why Accuracy Matters
• Estate Accountings and Court Review
• Why Probate Takes Time (Even When Everyone Agrees)
• Administrative Errors That Create Delays
• When the Process Stalls Without Conflict
• Closing the Estate: What “Finished” Really Means

Who This Is For

This Resource Center is written for:

• Personal Representatives trying to understand what comes next
• Heirs frustrated by delays they cannot see
• Families navigating probate for the first time
• Fiduciaries who want to avoid preventable mistakes

It assumes intelligence, not familiarity.

Closing Note

Probate administration is not difficult because it is complicated.
It is difficult because it is procedural, layered, and unforgiving of shortcuts.

When families understand how the process actually flows, expectations become realistic, decisions become steadier, and progress becomes visible. This Resource Center exists to provide that orientation before confusion turns into conflict.