E265 Late Probate 40 Years After Death

<p>What happens during a late probate, meaning you don’t begin the probate process until many years after death? In a recent case, we probated an estate <strong><u>40 years</u></strong> after death. This case study shows just a few problems with late probate.</p> <h2>Creditors get impatient</h2> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-42141" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Creditors-get-impatient-300x169.jpg" alt="Creditors get impatient" width="300" height="169" /></p> <p>Creditors are usually patient, and they understand that when someone first passes, they won’t get the decedent’s money immediately. Once the creditors know that the estate is opened and the attorney is involved, they sit tight for a bit.</p> <p>BUT, if it’s been a decade – or four in this case - they understandably get impatient. Creditors need someone to sue to get their money; they can’t sue a dead person. If no one is appointed as executor, then there is no one to drag into court. Eventually, if the heirs don’t probate, then creditors will ask the court to appoint someone (usually the Public Administrator, a <a href= "https://anthonyspark.com/e161-court-appointed-strangers/">court-appointed stranger</a>) to be executor/administrator. The creditors aren’t going to request that an heir be appointed; it will be a court-appointed person who has no relationship to the estate.</p> <h2>Multi-generational probates</h2> <p>If you wait decades to probate, then you will likely end up with multi-generational probate. As time lapses, more people will pass away.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-42142" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Multi-generational-probates-300x169.jpg" alt="Multi-generational probates" width="300" height="169" /></p> <p>For example, granddad passed away 40 years ago, and no one probated his estate. Eventually, his kids and grandkids will pass away too. Granddad died in 1970 and was survived by five sons at the time. Since then, two of the sons and even some