Estate & probate
Probate
Probate is the court-supervised process of proving a will, settling debts and transferring what a person owned in their own name when they died.
Also called probate court · estate administration
Probate exists because when someone dies, the legal authority to move their property dies with them. The court appoints someone to act, confirms who is entitled to what, gives creditors a window to make claims, and then authorises the transfers. It is a records process rather than a dispute.
It applies only to assets that pass by will: property held in the deceased person’s sole name with no beneficiary designation and no joint owner. In Ohio it is administered county by county, so the practical experience of it varies by where the person lived.
The things people object to about probate are that it is public, that it takes time, and that it costs money out of the estate. All three are true to varying degrees, and all three are avoidable for most assets by arranging in advance for them to pass some other way.
What it does not do
Having a will does not avoid probate. A will is the instruction manual for probate, not an alternative to it. The instruments that avoid probate are trusts, beneficiary designations and joint ownership, and they work by moving the asset outside the will’s reach.
This entry is a general explanation, not advice for your situation, and it deliberately avoids thresholds and figures, because those are the part most likely to be out of date. Reviewed August 27, 2026. If a decision turns on any of it, ring the office rather than relying on a page.
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