This is the process after a person's death, when his or her will is presented to the clerk of court in the county of his or her residence. If the will has been properly executed and the court accepts the will, the court will appoint the executor or executrix named in the will to act in that capacity to carry out the terms of the will. The executor will then publish notice to creditors, gather the decedent's assets, determine what debts there are, file inventories of the assets and debts, pay the debts and distribute the property to the beneficiaries according to the terms of the will. A will can be challenged in a proceeding called a "caveat" proceeding, although this is not typical.
Avoiding Probate
Avoiding probate is a goal for persons who do not want the contents of their estate disclosed in the public court record, who want to avoid having their property tied up in the probate process and who want to decrease the chances of having a caveat proceeding. Avoiding probate can be particularly important if you own real estate in more than one state because, if you do, then there will typically have to be a probate in each such state and avoiding multiple probates becomes more cost important. The living trust is very common in states where the probate process is expensive and lengthy and less common is states where the probate process is not so long and expensive. I consider North Carolina to be a state where probate can typically be accomplished reasonably quickly and affordably. Nonetheless, many people who can afford the increased costs of preparing and funding a living trust use the trust in their estate plan.
Expedited Probate for Surviving Spouse
Another consideration in deciding whether to have a living trust is that a surviving spouse can elect to go through an expedited probate process if all the property of the decedent is left in the decedent's will to the surviving spouse and the survivor spouse assumes all the debts of the decedent and executes and files an affidavit with the court to this effect. There is then no need to publish notice to creditors or hand out gifts to other persons.