Q: My father passed recently. If he has no cash, property or assets, do we still need probate?
My brother and I are the sole beneficiaries and executors of his will. We have no disputes in the matter. His investment accounts are set to be distributed to us upon receipt of death certificate based on the arrangements he previously made. My brother and I are authorized users on his bank account already, where he has less than $30k in cash. We can withdraw that money at our discretion. He has no property. Do we still need probate and for what purpose?
A: Generally, parties are motivated to go through the probate process in order to get certain property placed into their names. You are not required to probate an estate just because someone has died.
Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer
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