In our context, “Probate” refers to the court-supervised settlement of the estate of someone who has passed away. A Probate Administration is generally needed if someone passes away owning an asset in his or her own personal name, such as a bank account in the deceased’s person’s name only. Typically jointly owned assets or assets with valid beneficiary designations will not need to pass through the Probate process but will pass directly to the other owner or beneficiary. At Ward Legal Group, we assist people who are named as executors in Wills, or who want to settle the estate of someone who died without a will (see intestacy blog post) to determine what might need to go through Probate and to help them navigate that process.