What Do I Do When Someone Dies?

Banks, insurers, government agencies, and title offices each generally require a certified copy. Most estates need 10 to 15 copies, ordered from the funeral home or the state vital records office. The death certificate calculator counts the copies for a specific estate.

No. Assets held in a living trust, joint accounts with survivorship, and accounts with named beneficiaries pass outside probate. Estates under the state's small-estate threshold ($15,000 to $400,000) can use a simplified procedure. Probate applies to assets titled in the person's sole name above that threshold. The probate decision tool answers it for a specific estate.

A successor trustee administers a living trust privately: no court filing, no public notice, and distribution under the trust's own terms. Probate is the court-supervised process for a will or for no documents: a petition, letters appointing the executor or administrator, a creditor claim period, and court oversight of the accounting and distribution. The estate settlement plan and trust settlement plan carry each path through to closing.

Trust administration commonly runs 6 to 12 months. Probate with a will typically runs 9 to 18 months, and an estate with no documents 12 to 24 months or longer. The creditor claim period in each state sets a floor on the timeline; disputes and tax filings extend it.

It depends on the estate and the state. Simple trust administrations are often handled without an attorney. Some states allow a personal representative to file probate without one; others require attorney involvement. The probate self-filing guide covers each state's rule. Contested estates, business interests, and taxable estates generally involve a licensed attorney.