The short answer
Maybe not. Probate is the court process for settling what your parent owned in their name alone. Anything with a named beneficiary, a joint owner with survivorship, or a trust usually goes outside it.
Each of the six states used as examples in this chapter also has a shorter route for some small estates. What is left, once you set aside everything that already names who gets it, decides whether probate is needed.
This chapter explains how things usually work in the United States. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and the rules where you live may differ. Before you act on anything here, check it with one of the people named at the end of the chapter.
What to do
- List everything your parent owned, and how each thing was held.
- Mark each item that names a beneficiary or a surviving owner.
- Add up what is left in your parent's name alone.
- Ask the probate court clerk whether a small-estate route applies there.
- Keep the list. You will use it again for the inventory, in What goes in the estate bank account?
What can wait
- Moving any money, from any account.
- Selling anything, until you know who has the authority to do it.
Who can help
The probate court clerk in the county where your parent lived can tell you which routes exist there.
Each bank, insurer or plan can tell you what it needs to release an account to the person named. A probate lawyer, for one consultation, can help if the list is long or unclear.
The rules, phone numbers and web addresses in this book were checked against the agencies’, courts’ and organizations’ own pages in October 2026. Where a rule differs by state, the book names one state as an example. Check anything you rely on with the office itself.
From Book 2: Being in Charge
This page has the short answer and the closing lists from chapter 2. The full chapter explains, in plain words, what exists, what to ask, and who can answer. The book covers months 1 to 9 after the death.
Questions near this one
Other questions on related subjects, from this book and the others.
- What happens to their bank and investment accounts? Book 3, Their Money
- What happens to a 401(k) or IRA, and who pays tax on it? Book 3, Their Money
- What if there is no will? Book 2, Being in Charge
- Who is in charge if no one was named? Book 1, The First Month
Hear when Being in Charge is out
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