There is a court supervised process for the final disposition of a person’s possessions called probate. A decedent’s estate is inventoried, outstanding debts are paid, and beneficiaries of the estate are verified. Then the net assets from the estate are distributed. Many people pass away “intestate,” meaning without a will. In those cases, the probate court appoints someone to decide how to distribute their cash, assets, and other property. Even those with a will come under probate court jurisdiction and have their inventory and distribution of possessions overseen by the probate court.
