You may have heard the legal term “probate”  used in casual or formal conversations.  Probate is an area of the law that you should become familiar with because it can have enormous consequences for your loved ones and is oftentimes the cornerstone for estate planning.  When we talk about probate, we are generally referring to the legal process by which a probate court supervises and renders a final decision on how an individual’s real estate, personal property, ancillary transactions, and day-to-day affairs will be handled, distributed or managed.  Think of probate court as an open forum, that functions as a place where those who cannot speak for themselves (deceased, incapacitated or minor persons) may heard.

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This is the second part of a five part series on frequently asked questions (FAQs) in Family Law.  This question is really two questions, obviously.  But the two are very intermixed and they are often asked in conjunction with each other.

I’m going to give you an answer that is exactly what you’d expect from a lawyer (and probably this type of answer is what makes lawyers widely despised).  THE ANSWER IS….    IT DEPENDS.

Before you “Google” away to another site, stick with me here!   You’ll see that this answer is a good one; one that a client can USE to his or her advantage.

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