Probate & Administration of Estates & Trusts
Probate is the term for a legal process in which a will is reviewed to determine whether it is valid and authentic. Probate also refers to the general administering of a deceased person’s will or the estate of a deceased person without a will.
Probate – Literally means “to prove” – A Will is probated or “proven” to be true and valid after it has been reviewed by a court. Once probate has been granted the Executors of the Will have the legal authority to distribute the assets of the deceased’s estate according to the terms of the Will.
Probate also applies to the estate of a person who dies without a will. In this case an application is made to the court for the appointment of an Administrator who will have responsibility to distribute the dead person’s land, money, cars and other personal effects to their closest living relatives. The law determines who can be appointed as Administrator and who are the relatives entitled to receive the deceased’s assets.
A trust is a fiduciary relationship in which one party, known as a trustor, gives another party, the trustee, the right to hold title to property or assets for the benefit of a third party, the beneficiary.
A Trust arises when an individual is formally registered on a Title for a property or other asset (e.g. a bank account) as the owner, but they are not the true or beneficial owner. Instead they are holding the property or bank account on behalf of another person who is not formally registered on the Title or named on the bank account. The law regards such an individual as a Trustee; holding the Title or appearing on the bank account as a Trustee of the unnamed beneficiary.