Glossary

Probate

The court-supervised process of validating a will, paying a deceased person's debts and distributing what's left, which life insurance usually avoids.

Also called: probate court, estate administration

Probate is the legal process a state court uses to settle a deceased person's affairs. The court confirms the will (or applies state intestacy law if there isn't one), appoints an executor or administrator, oversees notice to creditors and payment of debts and taxes, and approves distribution of the remaining assets. It can take months or years, it has fees and court costs, and the court file is generally public.

Life insurance usually skips probate because the death benefit passes by contract directly to the named beneficiary, not through the will. The exception is when the estate is the beneficiary, or when no beneficiary is named or every named beneficiary has died, in which case the proceeds typically go to the estate. Hypothetically, a $300,000 policy payable to "my estate" becomes part of the probate process, can be delayed for months and may be exposed to the deceased's creditors, while the same policy payable to a spouse would be paid directly once the claim is approved.

To keep proceeds out of probate, name primary and contingent beneficiaries and keep them current. See does life insurance go through probate? and why naming your estate as beneficiary is usually a mistake.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

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Related terms

Estate Everything a person owns at death, from property and accounts to some life insurance, which is settled and distributed to heirs and creditors. Executor The person named in a will, or appointed by a court, to settle a deceased person's estate: gather assets, pay debts and taxes, and distribute what remains. Beneficiary designation The signed instruction on file with an insurer naming who receives a policy's proceeds, in what shares and in what order. Revocable living trust A trust you create and control during your life that can hold assets or receive life insurance, then distribute them after death without probate. Testamentary trust A trust written into a will that comes into existence only after death and probate, often to manage money for minor children.

Related guides

What happens if your beneficiary dies before you Who gets the death benefit when a named beneficiary dies first: contingent beneficiaries, shares, anti-lapse rules, simultaneous deaths and the estate fallback. Can creditors take life insurance money? Most states shield life insurance paid to a named beneficiary from the insured's creditors, but not if the estate is named. Cash value rules vary by state. What happens to your debt when you die Debts are paid from the estate, not by family, unless someone co-signed, shares an account or is in a community property state. How each is handled. Why naming your estate as beneficiary is usually a mistake Naming your estate as life insurance beneficiary sends the money through probate and exposes it to creditors. When it still makes sense, and the alternatives. Estate liquidity: paying taxes and debts without a fire sale Why estates rich in property but short on cash are forced to sell, what bills come due after a death, and how life insurance and other tools supply the cash. What a funeral costs and how families pay for it NFDA's 2023 medians put a funeral with burial at $8,300 and with cremation at $6,280, before cemetery costs. What drives the bill, your FTC rights, ways to pay.