Probate lawyers are legal professionals specializing in the navigation of probate, which is the after-death process when families work alongside the probate courts to formally dissolve someone's financial life.
What you need to know
Probate lawyers or attorneys specialize in helping families navigate the after-death process of dissolving someone's estate.
Some states require you to hire a probate lawyer during probate, others don't.
Even if your state doesn't require you to have a probate lawyer, disputes, large estates, and just wanting to have someone to walk you through the process can make the cost worth it.
On the other hand, it is possible to get through probate yourself — especially with the sorts of DIY probate tools available.
Expect to pay between $200-$500 per hour for a probate lawyer, and there are five standard ways to charge for legal services in probate: hourly rate, flat fee, retainer fees, contingency fees, and % of the estate’s value.
When families run into will contests, need help settling an estate, or are required by their state to help get through probate, probate lawyers and attorneys are the people they call.
These lawyers specialize in working with probate courts, wills, beneficiaries, heirs, and tax professionals to resolve disputes, help families get through probate as efficiently as possible, and make sure a decedent's (deceased person) estate is properly dissolved.
What do Probate Lawyers Do?
All sorts of things, but their services include:
- Helping you build your required inventory of assets during probate
- Help you file notice to creditors
- Help you resolve any disputes or will contests
- Facilitate conversation between heirs and executors
- Generally illuminate next steps and explain your options during the process
- Preparing and communicating with the local court on your behalf
- Helping resolve all debts and taxes
- Creating an EIN account for you
- Retitling and assisting with ownership transfers
And pretty much anything else that comes up.
When Should You Hire a Probate Lawyer?
Not all states require probate lawyers, but the ones that do, either outright or in effect (because you need them for certain forms), include:
- Hawaii
- Missouri for estates over $40k
- North Carolina if you don’t live in the same state as the deceased
- North Dakota if going through formal probate
- Texas except in special situations, e.g. the executor is also the sole beneficiary of the testate estate and there are no debts against the estate other than those secured by liens against real estate.
- Arizona - Can get around a lawyer if you complete a certification and present the Certificate of Completion to the Probate Court.
If you live outside of those states, then getting a probate attorney is a choice that will depend on a few things. Generally speaking, the larger your estate (i.e. multiple houses, many beneficiaries) and the existence of disputes will be the most likely triggers to hiring a probate lawyer.
If you have the cash, are the acting executor, executrix, or personal representative, and would prefer to work alongside someone throughout probate, you can hire probate lawyers for that reason as well. Although that isn't the cheapest option.
It can be definitely a risk vs. cost calculation.
Here are a few questions that can help you figure out if you need a probate lawyer:
- How complicated is the estate to understand or manage?
- Did the decedent leave a will, trust or other verified estate plan?
- Are the relationships among beneficiaries and surviving family members tense or stressful?
- Are you aware of the qualifications & generally prepared for the requirements & type of work required of an executor?
Navigating the probate process is not always an easy task. And it’s hardly a straight line.
Whether you end up deciding to hire a probate lawyer or not, DIY Probate platforms like Atticus can be tremendously helpful for guiding step-by-step instruction, access to necessary probate forms & notices, and built-in tools to help inventory assets & share progress with co-executors, beneficiaries and any assisting advisors... including probate attorneys.
We also took a bunch of time to gather all of our favorite resources and tools for people going through probate, and you can see that list below:
Free Probate Help: 52 Tools and Resources For Every Estate and Budget
How to open a loved one’s safe deposit box after they die
Opening the safe deposit box of your spouse or other loved one isn’t as easy as driving down to the bank. States often require multiple forms, and the laws depend on where you live. To make things simple, we’ve listed every state and what they require so you can open a safe deposit box quickly and easily.
Find your state’s rulesJamie's father passed away intestate (without a will), so Jamie stepped up to serve as the executrix. During the beginning of the process, she found herself overwhelmed by the number of responsibilities and tasks she had to complete. She was also having trouble communicating with her sister about certain responsibilities and assets.
Even though her state didn't require her to hire a probate lawyer, since her father had a large estate with multiple houses ($3 million+), she decided that she was okay with spending the money on a probate lawyer and getting through the process with professional assistance. After getting through probate successfully, she wrote off the legal fees as an executor expense and formally dissolved her father's estate.
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Nathan Phelps
Nathan is a Sr. Content Lead at Atticus and owner of Crafted Copy, a boutique copywriting and marketing shop based out of Nashville, TN. He has written hundreds of articles, white papers, and emails in industries like estate settlement, finance, and psychology, and his writing is read by millions of people across the internet each year.
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