CES Estate Settlement & Probate Process Flashcards
6 cards from real CES practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 CES Estate Settlement & Probate Process flashcards as text
Which document formally authorizes a personal representative to collect assets, pay debts, and distribute a decedent's estate?
Answer: Letters testamentary
Letters testamentary are issued by the probate court and grant the executor legal authority to administer the decedent's probate estate.
What is the primary advantage of a funded revocable living trust over a will in terms of estate settlement?
Answer: It avoids probate, allowing assets to pass privately and quickly
Assets held in a funded revocable living trust pass directly to beneficiaries without probate, reducing delays, costs, and public disclosure.
During estate settlement, what is the order of priority for paying claims against a decedent's estate?
Answer: Administration expenses, then taxes, then secured and unsecured creditors
Most states prioritize administration expenses and funeral costs, then taxes, then secured and unsecured creditor claims before distribution to beneficiaries.
What is 'abatement' in the context of estate settlement?
Answer: The reduction or elimination of bequests when estate assets are insufficient to satisfy all gifts and debts
Abatement occurs when estate assets are insufficient to pay debts and make all bequests, causing gifts to be reduced or eliminated in a statutory order of priority.
Which type of jointly held property passes outside of probate to the surviving co-owner by operation of law?
Answer: Joint tenancy with right of survivorship
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship automatically transfers the deceased owner's interest to the surviving joint tenant without going through probate.
What is an ancillary probate proceeding, and when is it required?
Answer: A separate probate proceeding in a state where the decedent owned real property outside their domicile state
Ancillary probate is required in states other than the decedent's domicile when the decedent owned real property there, because real property is governed by the law of the state where it is located.