What Assets Are In the Probate Estate?

Understanding What is in Your Probate Estate

Your probate estate consists of all of your assets that do not pass outside of probate. Common examples of probate assets include:

Bank accounts that you hold individually;
Vehicles;
Real property if not jointly owned with someone else;

Personal property (like the contents of your household, jewelry, art, etc.).

Personal property is often distributed informally, but if it has more than sentimental or practical value it should go through the probate process. Other assets, like real estate and vehicles, may not be transferred legally until someone is appointed personal representative and has the legal authority to transfer clean title.

There are other assets that usually are not part of the probate estate but can end up there if you don't update beneficiary designations. For example, a life insurance policy will pay out to named beneficiaries without waiting for the probate process. But if your named beneficiaries are no longer living, the proceeds will be paid to your estate and distributed according to your will and through the probate process. The same is true for investment and retirement accounts and any other account with designated beneficiaries.

Learn more here about the probate process in Massachusetts.

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Meet Our Estate Planning and Probate Lawyers

Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year.

Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna wrote a book on estate planning: The Road to Peace of Mind: What You Need to Know About Estate Planning. Jenna has helped many individuals and families with planning to protect their legacies and loved ones, and planning for the future and succession of their businesses.

Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and earned her LLM in estate planning from Western New England Scool of Law in 2016. She has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped many clients with planning for their legacies and their future, and navigating the probate process in Massachusetts after the death of a loved one.

How We Can Help

Our experienced estate planning and probate team can help you navigate the process of handling a loved one's estate. You can use the button below to schedule a free information call with a member of our team and learn how to get started, or simply give us a call at (781) 784-2322.

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Jenna Ordway

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