Why Heirs Say Probate Sucks 😫

Not every probate is a nightmare. Some are smooth and efficient. In some probates, the relationship of the parties gets even stronger. But some probates (in we call it a "Succession"), it is rough.
This post addresses what people tell me about probate that they dislike.
The overall problem with probate is that the heirs are forced to rely on many different people to get things done, and if one or more of those people are not motivated to help you, you will run into delay, confusion, and frustration.
Here are a few of the other complaints I've heard about probate:
(1) Government-Supervised. Heirs don't like that they are at the mercy of government employees to make sure their probate moves along. Sometimes, government employees can be unmotivated so that paperwork that needs to be processed sits on a desk for weeks or months at a time.
(2) Financial Institution Delays. When a customer of a financial institution dies, accounts are frozen. Banks have many systems and processes and checks and balances in place in a probate to make sure they transfer funds to the appropriate parties. They must get their own estate lawyers to review and approve probate court orders before any frozen accounts are released.
(3) Lawyers. Lawyers get a bad rap. Some if it is well-deserved.
(4) Heirs and Executors. To complete a probate, cooperation of every heir is necessary. Sometimes an heir can be suspicious of other parties which can cause delay, hard feelings, and frustration.
And finally, what can make matters worse, is that all of t his is going on while survivors are grieving over the loss of their loved one.
For prospective law firm clients who want to schedule a free 15 minute initial phone call with Paul Rabalais, go to: go.oncehub.com/Paul8
This post is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. Please do not act or refrain from acting based on anything you read on this site. Using this site or communicating with Rabalais Estate Planning, LLC, through this site does not form an attorney/client relationship.
Paul Rabalais
Estate Planning Attorney
www.RabalaisEstatePlanning.com
Phone: [phone]

[@richmel6245]

What sucks about probate, is that "one" person, who doesn't even have a right to a inheritince, can put the brakes on the process.

[@elinoreberkley1643]

probate is bad but not as bad as losing your most loved

[@j.p.3324]

You don't NEED a lawyer. I am in the middle of settling an estate and have done it all on my own. It will take you some time to learn all you need to know, but it's not rocket science. The internet is your friend.

[@Geminis3505]

Thanks so much for this amazing. Please keep up educating us with these topics. Currently, I am in that nightmare with the probate. My partner passed away unexpectedly last September 11 of 2019. I am the main beneficiary. Anyway, still, I am waiting and I don't know when this process is going to end.

[@lindanorris2455]

SO HORRIBLE ALL AROUND!

[@robertgraham9598]

There are many aspects to probate. It's not just used when someone dies. Probate courts are also assigning conservators and guardians who, in some cases, are warranted. In other cases, they're doing assigning 3rd party conservators AND guardians to just one person under the pretense of "avoiding family squabbles" but in reality, they end up intervening with care that someone is already receiving from competent and proven family members who arent' taking any money for it. So the conservator or trustee or attorneys in charge drain entire estates with fees that no one sees until it's too late and by forcing the family to use home and yard maintenance providers who charge them 200% or more of what's normal, but they also aren't allowed to see those invoices....until it's too late. It's a huge scam...all done by attorneys, judges, and private conservators.

[@heidipafford7555]

I don't know very much about probate other than what you just explained, which was very helpful by the way! However, I DO know one thing for certain, I would have to describe the events that have transpired thus far since passing one of my "late parents" as: " The nightmare version of "Days of Our LIves" on steroids!!! And, like you said, most people don't want to have to deal with a lot of stress while they are grieving the loss of a parent, but our government lacks the "emotional intelligence" to grasp that concept or just don't care at all. And it is especially difficult for individuals like myself who are "economically disadvantaged" to be able to afford any kind of legal assistance. There are certain agencies who claim to assist people who are "economically disadvantaged" with their legal issues, but, in my experience the assistance they render is severely limited. That is why sometimes I think it is best to "cut your losses" and move forward. Thank you so much for taking the time to break this information down and explain it in a way that is easier to understand. Being in a situation like this can seem so overwhelming when one does not have the knowledge and background to understand what is going on and no one is willing to take the time to explain how any of this works. Thanks again for your videos and taking the time to explain this information in a way that a person without any knowledge of this can actually comprehend!

[@donrad]

My mothers living trust was mismanaged so bad by my siblings in control, I had to petition the probate court for supervision just so they wouldn't steal everything. Probate was a lifesaver for me. (Out of the frying pan and into the fire)

[@lilyjin7354]

could you share how you do petition the probate? what type of lawyer could help? thanks!

[@donrad]

@@lilyjin7354 The type of lawyer you want is a "Probate Litigation" attorney. The first step in my case was to "Petition the Court for a Detailed Trust Accounting". Contact your "State Bar of (Your State) Public Service Center" where you can search for lawyers who specialized in Probate Litigation. Find someone who will give you a free initial consultation. Talk to at least 3 before you hire one. Sometimes there are programs to help low income people navigate the state's probate process, contact your county Probate Court for information about this. Watch lots of KZbin videos about probate litigation. Here is a good one for starters: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3urZ6N8bbyappY&ab_channel=Albertson%26DavidsonLLP

[@lindanorris2455]

RIGHT ON! HOPEFULLY, YOU ARE NOT BEING PROBATE RAPED AND ROBBED BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS! THERE IS NO HELP,. THERE IS NO HOPE, IF YOU ARE!

[@dks13827]

I love that you tell jerks to leave!!!! I would.

[@MsQuintyn]

Unlike for not getting Straight to the point. Skip the first 5 minutes...

[@frankdillon6127]

do i need a living trust? all i have basicly is a house with a reverse mortgage, 2 newer financed vehicles, and 25,000 in life insurance. nothing else.

[@WomanRoaring]

My cousin was the sole heir, it took 11 years to probate my uncles will, why? Because he’s lazy and threw paperwork in a box. I had to help him because I realized he wasn’t filling out paperwork and the state took a lot of money that was my uncle’s retirement and my cousin didn’t think about that. I was like, no one is going to fight you, you’re his only child so fill the paperwork out. It was such a slow process I told my cousin to make a trust instead of a will so I don’t have to deal with probate when he passes...

[@tbjtbj4786]

This is just something else the government should not be involved with.

[@painlesscotton]

Probate is not familiar to most people so they have no idea how long it takes and what is involved. If you have a trust Make Sure everything goes in it that needs to or you still have to go through probate to get things settled and it's costly!

[@thebackbuddy748]

Would you please inform us on how best to keep fraudulent guardianships from stealing our lives and homes and savings? There must be some ironclad methods to keep thieves from declaring us incompetent to steal our remaining futures and children's inheritance.

[@edthom2210]

My older sister probated my mom’s will. She is currently a deadbeat living there with her husband, has not paid any rent for over 2+ years.

[@TheCthtoNicfLy]

I subscribed thanks for your help

[@MrsDavis1815]

What does it mean when an ad is placed looking for unknown heirs? I found an as with my grandmother and great grandfather’s name looking for unknown heirs in Louisiana but I didn’t understand it

[@nightlifenursing]

Help?

[@ginniemccollum1292]

If your an heir should you receive a copy of the will with your forms of agreement sent by the attorney?

[@debkincaid2891]

My father's death is soon, my brother & I were named coexecutors of my father's will, and I'm not sure if probate is obligatory (State of Florida) or not. It seems, from my perusing the Florida Probate court website, that probate will be necessary. However, my father has all along insisted that is not true. On top of this is the fact that I want to step aside from my coexecutorship and leave my brother as sole executor. I am not confident my brother will open probate & will just do whatever he wants, which worries me that he may get himself in trouble with the law. I guess my question is: how can I know whether probate is a requirement, and how is probate started, if needed? There's no Trust involved but there are prenuptial agreements between my father and his wife.

[@elinoreberkley1643]

bad idea

[@rustyyb8450]

Small Estates. There is a "will" with "executor" named. No accounts frozen. No property not in a Trust. But there will be "one" tax return with not more than $2K returned. .... If the refund were to be paid to the "estate", seems this gets expensive. Petitioning to probate the will requires a filing fee of $435. Petition to name the "executor" requires a filing fee of ???? Petition to close probate requires a filing fee of ????

[@dks13827]

7 years waiting for probate of the Grandparents farm that 12 cousins now own. Why? Lazy lawyer for one party. How do you like that ? We are all of retired age, also. One cousin just died, too. More to come. A second cousin has now died. More to come. It is done now, 8 and a half years.

[@nancymcgrath6283]

That’s terrible.

[@pattytada9117]

My brother is the executor the heirs are not being shown the will and he hasn’t lodged it with the state of Colorado. What should I do??

[@elinoreberkley1643]

contest in court but you may need a lawyer for that. What do you think the will said? May be nothing or may be worth it.. up to you...

[@christiewright1268]

@nolamar1 it will be registered with the court clerk. The have a file room, you can review all files to seek

[@danielstevenson1250]

So you take only Leave it to Beaver cases? Interesting.

[@anessafreeland5165]

My brother was the executive of our parents will but everyone has died but me. I'm the only living child.

[@anessafreeland5165]

The only names mentioned in the will are his kids who have passed away but me.

[@nightlifenursing]

Wat do u do?

[@rr1ee163]

@@anessafreeland5165 Each family of the deceased members still has the right for the share of the will as will be explained later during the probate..

[@danielstevenson1250]

Pro Bono for leave it to beaver fams.

[@kevinbrennan8794]

Thanks for your very educational videos. My wife and I want to leave our estate to her four children, which I did not adopt and who are now over 40 years old, divided equally. I have one biological son who is estranged (we were separated through a divorce where his mother took custody of him and I have had little or no contact with him for over 30 years. I may want to send him a small amount of money is all.

[@dks13827]

Sounds fair.

[@marcynava5958]

Sounds unfair . It wasn’t the kids fault your ex took him .

[@lindanorris2455]

YOU SHOULD THE CHILD IS YOUR (BIOLOGICAL) SON!

[@seanm3226]

@@lindanorris2455 With that logic, then he SHOULDN’T leave anything to those who are NOT biologically his.

[@dalidzucheredi2495]

You are kind

[@dks13827]

$27,000 for probate in 2 states.

[@dennisjex2965]

How much total to settle estate 500k consolidate into a trust acct

[@janiceloeding95]

How do I get an appointment with you

[@darrylhaynes]

If a person dies leave property to three kids two of them want to sell the property one wants to keep it how long can this drag out in court

[@mendoblendo321]

Just sale it if two want to sale. Eventually it will sale and just coast more for everyone. It can drag out a looong time, not worth it

[@dalidzucheredi2495]

And you will loose your sibling

[@danielstevenson1250]

Cherry picker. Those are the ones that really need the help.

[@hotmessmomtv4117]

So if you want one of your specific properties to go to one of your children, do you have to add that child to the title to avoid it having to go through probate/potentially being used to pay debt?

[@buyerbware25]

I don't know if you can keep a property from creditors by adding another name to the deed, but putting a child's name as joint owner of your property is risky. Joint ownership would mean that the child could not sell without your signature, but what happens if he gets sued? If, in the future, you need money and want to sell the property, what if he will not sell? Be sure that you know everything there is to know about joint ownership where you live and where the property is located before putting Junior's name on anything.

[@janetwalsh929]

Do a transfer upon death deed.

[@calisto9856]

Put your home into a living trust , then take your home out of your name and put it i the name of the trust [funding] . Have the trustee be the child you want the home to go to . When you die home automatically goes to child without probate court being involved .

[@ravismaximus7972]

So if it's work this guy is out

[@marg22az]

What is up with the rosy checks

[@WomanRoaring]

Some people have rosacea which gives you red cheeks or noses. It’s not something he’s doing on purpose.

[@elinoreberkley1643]

it is a skin condition

[@heatheran4783]

@@WomanRoaring My son has this as well.

[@mendoblendo321]

Jack Daniel's lol

[@kccolby7562]

Wow your rude