Probate is by no means among the most popular legal processes in Texas, and there are good reasons why people don’t like it. It takes too long, it’s hard to understand, and it takes a significant amount of mental and emotional energy – just to name a few.
What is the purpose of probate?
Probate is often used to guide the legal process after a person passes away as a way of making sure the decedent’s will is legally accepted. During this process, an executor is appointed and other crucial steps are taken to tie together all of the financial loose ends of the deceased.
Those who complain of probate’s lengthy nature aren’t just being impatient. The consensus among professionals and the general public alike is that it takes an unreasonably long amount of time.
This is owed to myriad restrictions and formalities around the probate process. Scheduling often becomes a nightmare due to congested courts that have a backlog of cases to deal with. In some states, efforts have been made to streamline the process, but in most cases, there are still countless hoops that you have to jump through and no shortage of waiting in between.
How long should you expect probate to last?
How long probate will take depends on a number of factors including the state in which you live, your estate’s size, the kinds of assets you have, any tax or marital property issues and whether there is a business involved.
Things might also not be kept as private as you would like through the probate process. The paperwork and documentation that is used as court files fall into the public records after a certain period of time, at which point anyone is able to read them.