It is important to understand what is meant by “estate” in both divorce cases and probate cases. “Estate” has different meanings in different contexts.
Some people think of an “estate” as a property, especially when talking about the ultra-wealthy. Right? The ultra wealthy live on “estates” or “compounds,” while the rest of us live in “houses.”
The word “estate” can also be used to describe an interest in land. For example, someone might own the “surface estate” of a piece of land, but someone else might own the “mineral estate.” Or someone might have an “estate for life” in a house.
In family law, you might hear people talk about the “community estate” when referring to community property. When a married person is talking about property they owned before their marriage, they refer to that as their “separate estate.”
Which leads to the probate definition of “estate.” A decedent’s “estate” is everything they owned at the time of their death. We all have “estates.” They include our personal belongings, our pets, our bank accounts, our cars, our homes, and everything else we have. Once you die, your estate must be divided up and distributed to your heirs. This is typically accomplished with oversight of the probate court, but not always.
The probate court’s level of involvement can range from extreme to none at all. You can minimize – or even eliminate – the court’s involvement in the administration of your estate by doing some end-of-life planning.
