Bodegasymercados

So preparing a will is relatively simple. Where it can get complicated, as you saw with Nancy, is after you have died. All your will says is where you want your property to go. It does not necessarily get it there very easily.
After your death your will has to go through the court system. Usually the executor has a lawyer handle this. Once the will gets to the court, two things happen. First, a judge has to authenticate the will, to make sure it is valid. This process is called probate. After the judge probates the will, he or she will then sign a court order transferring title to the property covered in the will to the people who are intended to receive it, as reflected in the will. In Jeff’s case, for example, title to Nancy’s house would be transferred to his name once probate was completed.
This sounds easy enough, but depending on which state you live in, it could be a nightmare.
In the first place, the process can take anywhere from six months to two years or more, while ownership of the property remains in probate limbo.
Nor does this process come cheap. In the state of California, where Jeff lives, and in many other states, there are statutory probate fees—fees, that is, set by law. These are the first fees that have to be paid from any estate.