Navigating the loss of a loved one is already deeply challenging, and trying to handle an estate on top of grieving can quickly become overwhelming. One of the most common questions people ask during this process is: “How long is this actually going to take?”
When mortgages need to be paid, bank accounts accessed, or properties sold, waiting for answers can feel incredibly stressful. The truth is that probate is rarely a fast process. Between busy court dockets, waiting on official citations, and coordinating necessary signatures, there are many moving parts behind the scenes that take time to resolve.
To help guide you through it all, we’ve put together a helpful video breaking down what you can realistically expect during the probate timeline.
In this video, you’ll discover:
- The “Magic” 4-Year Deadline: Why beginning estate administration within four years of a loved one’s passing is crucial—and what happens if that window slips by.
- Will Contests & Timelines: How acting quickly affects legal burden if a will’s validity is challenged.
- Understanding Court Delays: Why even straightforward cases take several months to reach a hearing, and why minor delays on the front end can save you months later on.
Whether you’re right at the beginning of administering an estate or simply trying to plan ahead, having clear expectations makes all the difference. Watch the video above to gain clarity on the process, and feel free to reach out to our team if you have any questions about your specific situation!
Video Transcript
0:00 Intro
0:28 Time Matters
1:18 “4” Is The Magic Number
2:08 Who Here Contest This Will?
3:21 Timeline
3:52 Court Hearings
4:38 Court-Appointed Attorneys
0:00 Intro
So, probably one of the most common questions that we get from our clients when we are administering estates is: “How long is this going to take?” And I know the reason that everyone is asking that is because there are assets that need to be handled, or creditors that need to be paid, mortgages that need to be paid to keep the homes out of foreclosure. And it’s a time where you’re grieving and I know everyone wants to wrap this up, put a pin in it, and be able to move on. But there are a lot of timelines and a lot of deadlines that you need to be considering when you’re administering an estate.
0:28 Time Matters
The first one that I want to talk about—that’s probably the most important one that is in your control—is the time frame for when you need to begin the process of administering an estate. I cannot tell you how many times someone will come to us, and I’ll give the example of a home. There’s a home that’s owned by Mom and Dad. Mom passes away, you know, 10 years ago. Dad continues to reside in the home. There’s no need to list it, sell it, or re-deed the home, and he continues to pay the mortgage on the home, no problem. Now Dad’s passed away and the family wants to sell the home. Well, the family never dealt with getting Mom’s portion of the home in Dad’s name. So now it’s been 10 years since Mom passed and we have her portion of the estate that needs to be handled. Courts are never going to be thrilled when you’ve let that much time pass. They don’t take a lot of empathy for kind of ignorance of the law.
1:18 “4” Is The Magic Number
So I always tell people, shout it from the rooftop, educate your friends, tell your family members: four years is the magic number to be considering when you’re talking about administering your loved one’s estate. If there is a will, you have to admit it to the court within four years of your loved one’s death. Obviously, there are going to be scenarios where maybe you didn’t know that there was a will or there wasn’t a need, and you’re watching this video and it’s already been more than 4 years. Don’t worry, we can still get it done; it just takes extra work, extra time, and extra money. So if it has not been four years yet, that is the time that you need to administer the estate. So if there’s a will, make sure you get it to your attorney’s office before that four-year mark. And if there’s not a will, the court still wants to see an administration open before that 4-year deadline. So keep that in mind. The quicker you move on things, the better.
2:08 Who Here Contest This Will?
Another kind of important timeline when you’re talking about a case with a will is if you have someone that you think is going to contest a will. So say you’re submitting a will to the court, but maybe your loved one has a prior will or a more recent will that they think should be admitted instead of the will that you’re offering. Once that will has been admitted by the probate court, the burden shifts. So say you’re offering a will and it has now been admitted to the court. Now that it’s been admitted and the court has found it to be valid, the person that’s not happy with that will and wants to contest it—they now have the burden on their side to prove that there was fraud, duress, undue influence, or any of those kind of grounds for contesting a will. But if they’re able to get their contest on file before that will is admitted to probate, the burden is on the proponent of the will to show that it was not created under fraud, duress, undue influence, etc. So getting that will admitted as quickly as possible if you’re the proponent of the will, or contesting the will as quickly as possible if you’re the contestant, is going to be really important. So again, not letting these things sit, moving on things as quickly as you can, but definitely within that 4-year time frame if at all possible.
3:21 Timeline
When people ask, “How long is this going to take? I need to get to Dad’s bank account. I need to pay the mortgage.” Probate is not fast. If there’s a will, it’s going to be much quicker for you—probably, you know, 3 to 4 months before we can get a hearing. And that’s because of the court schedule. So sometimes people will call and say, “Hey, I hired you 3 weeks ago. Where are my letters? Are we almost done?” And sometimes the citations haven’t even been issued by the court in that amount of time. So just having patience and understanding that we’re at the mercy of the court sometimes for citations that have to run.
3:52 Court Hearings
And then also in getting a hearing in different courts: I could email tomorrow and ask for hearing dates, and maybe one court will offer me a month from now, and that’s pretty quick. Another court could say, “We can’t get you in for another 2 and a half months.” So it depends on what court you’re in, it depends on what county you’re in, and really just having patience with your attorney. Never hesitate to reach out and ask for an update; we’re happy to provide those. But there are lulls sometimes in the case. That doesn’t mean the case is not progressing; it just means that we might be waiting for something such as a citation to run. Maybe we have heirs that we’re waiting to sign a consent. Sometimes giving them a couple extra weeks to sign that consent to keep you out of that dependent court-supervised world can save us months on the back end. So it can be worth it to have that patience on the front end.
4:38 Court-Appointed Attorneys
Waiting for the court to appoint an attorney ad litem if we’re dealing with an heirship—some courts, again, we can get an ad litem in two weeks; sometimes 2 to 3 months to get that person appointed. So just be patient. Probate does not move fast. We try to keep things moving as quickly as possible. And again, we’re always happy for you to reach out and ask for an update if we’re working on your case. And if you have any questions about a case that you have or that you would like to bring, please feel free to reach out to our firm. We have our links and our website listed below and we’d be happy to answer any questions that you have. Thank you.