Trying to figure out the difference between testate vs intestate?
And what testate vs testate means for your family’s inheritance?
In this article, you’ll learn:
So, let’s dig in.
When the courts appoint an administrator to an estate, they can choose anyone. This includes creditors or third-party companies. Meaning you and your family lose all control over the estate.
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Testate vs intestate indicate whether a person died with or without a will.
Testate vs intestate indicates how the estate gets probated.
Related: Consequences Of Not Probating A Will
Testate means that the person has died with a will.
The courts will probate the estate per the will’s instructions.
Since there is a will, the will appoints an executor for the estate.
The executor has to distribute the estate per the will.
Intestate means that a person died without a will.
When someone dies without a will, the courts refer to the intestate laws.
They will probate the estate based on the intestacy laws in your state.
Intestacy laws are different in every state.
With intestate, the courts will appoint an administrator vs an executor.
The administrator will determine how the assets get distributed.
Related: How To File A Will
Intestate vs testate have two different processes.
But, in some ways, intestate vs testate has some of the same processes.
Let’s dig into the processes for testate vs intestate.
Testate meaning is that someone has died with a will.
And that the probate process will follow the will’s instructions.
Meaning that the estate gets distributed per the will.
For testate, the probate process is that the:
Intestate meaning is that someone died without a will.
And that the probate process will follow the intestacy laws of their state.
And the estate will get distributed per the intestacy laws of that state.
For intestate, the probate process is that:
Related: What An Executor Cannot Do
Let’s dig a tad deeper on testate vs intestate.
We already know that testate vs intestate is whether or not the person had a will.
For testate (had a will), the executor’s responsibility is probating the will.
So, it’s their responsibility to find the will and file it with the petition for probate.
To validate the will, the two witnesses need to verify the signature.
But what if it’s intestate because there was no will?
Someone in the family has to file a Petition For Probate.
But you don’t have a will, so you won’t file that with the petition.
After this, the administrator will get appointed for the probate process.
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