These materials are provided for general education purposes, and do not constitute legal advice. Consult with an attorney whenever you are involved with a probate matter.

A.    TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

1.  Probate - the process of proving the validity of a will, and the persons entitled to receive property pursuant to the will. In the absence of a will, probate is the process of obtaining a legal determination that the decedent died without a will, and the identity of the heirs.
2. Personal representative - a legally appointed fiduciary who administers the estate.
3. Intestacy - the state of affairs of a decedent who dies without a validly executed will.
4. Heirs - the persons designated who are entitled to receive the decedent's probate property under Minnesota law if there is no valid will.
5. Devisees - the persons designated in a will to receive the property of a decedent.
6. Registrar - A non-judicial officer having statutory authority to appoint personal representatives in simple probates.
7. Letters - The official document granting a personal representative powers to act on behalf of the decedent's estate.
8. Supervised Administration - A type of probate administration which is subject to the supervision of the court in that the personal representative must obtain court approval before making any distributions from the estate. This type of proceeding is generally only necessary where heirs or devisees can be expected to be adversarial.
9. Issue - Descendants of the named person. If there are descendants more than one generation below the decedent, they will take the decedent’s property by representation.
10. Claims - A debt which is owed by the decedent or by his or her estate, arising either before or after death.
11. Creditor - a party purporting to hold a claim against the estate.
12. Venue - The location of the probate proceeding. The county where the decedent resided at the time of death will be the forum for the probate proceeding. If the decedent did not live in Minnesota at the time of death but owned real estate in Minnesota, the venue for the probate proceeding will be in one of the counties where real estate was located.
13. Bond - An insurance premium paid to a bonding company to secure the proper administration of an estate. The personal representative must have a good credit rating in order to obtain a bond.

B.    PURPOSE OF A PROBATE PROCEEDING

The purpose of a probate proceeding is to provide a forum whereby all persons interested in a decedent's estate, including heirs, devisees, and creditors, can be heard and have a proper determination made of the extent of their interests in the estate.
 

C.    CERTAIN ESTATES NOT REQUIRING THE APPOINTMENT OF A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE

 1.   Property owned in Joint Tenancy
 

• Title to the property passes to the surviving joint tenant at death.
• An Affidavit of Survivorship is filed with County Recorder by the surviving joint tenant of real property.
• Similar forms are filed with banks for payable on death (“P.O.D.”) and joint accounts.

 2.    Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit
 

• An Affidavit may be used to transfer title to tangible personal property, bank accounts, securities, or motor vehicles.
• File with the holder of such property (or the Department of Motor Vehicles) no earlier than 30 days after death.
• The entire value of the probate estate as of the date of death must be less than $20,000.
• A personal representative must not have been appointed, and there can be no pending application for the appointment of a personal representative.
• The person preparing the affidavit must be entitled to such property as an heir or devisee.

 3.   All Property Held in Trust
 

• Since title is already held in the name of the trustee, no probate is required.
• The successor trustee, if there is one, assumes title and continues the trust.