When someone passes away, one of the first questions their family faces is: “Do we have to go through probate?”

Probate is the legal process for transferring ownership of a person’s assets after death. In Delaware, it can range from very simple paperwork to a full year-long process involving court filings, creditor notices, and detailed accounting. Understanding what kind of probate, if any, applies to an estate can make a stressful time much more manageable.

The question is, does every estate have to go through probate in Delaware?

The answer is, not every estate has to go through the probate process. Every estate will have to go through some process, but some can be very short and some can take longer.

The full probate process includes having someone appointed as an executor, filing a petition, filing an inventory of all of the assets owned, handling any creditor claims, paying bills, funeral expenses, and debts of the estate, and then filing an accounting. That process can take up to 12 months.

There are shorter processes depending on the situation when someone passes away.

• Jointly Owned Property If a person dies owning only jointly owned property - for example, all of their bank accounts, their house, everything was joint with a spouse - then there are very few actions that need to be taken. You visit the Register of Wills, file some paperwork documenting the joint status of the assets and who the new owners are, and that’s the end of the process.
  
  
• Small Estate Process Sometimes you can go through what’s called a small estate process. That happens when the decedent owned no real estate in their sole name (they may have jointly owned real estate, but nothing only in their name), and the total of the assets in their sole name - cars, bank accounts, personal property - is under $30,000. In that case, you file some documents with the Register of Wills, obtain the certificates you need to transfer titles to things like cars and bank accounts, and it can be a pretty quick process. It might be done in weeks or months, depending on how quickly the person handling it gets the work done.

There are also some ways to keep an estate out of probate in the first place.

1. Putting a house in a revocable trust. This takes the house out of the person’s probate estate, leaves them control of the house while they’re living, but keeps it out of their name when they pass away, so probate isn’t required.
   
   
2. Adding payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) provisions on bank accounts. Those accounts pass directly to a survivor instead of through probate.
   
   
3. Naming beneficiaries on retirement accounts, investment accounts, and insurance policies.

All of these things help reduce the amount of assets that are counted toward that $30,000 threshold. If assets are arranged properly, the decedent’s family can have an easier time by avoiding the full 10–12 month probate process.

It’s important to look at everything - the house, bank accounts, investments, insurance, personal property, automobiles - and get the full picture. Some things can be handled through a will, others through a trust, and others through beneficiary provisions.

Sometimes you can figure out what needs to be done by researching on the Register of Wills website. But often it’s worth consulting with an attorney, at least for a meeting, to find out exactly what you should do and how to do it - and to make sure everything is set up to avoid unnecessary probate down the road.

Every family’s situation is different. If you’re in Delaware and unsure which process applies to your loved one’s estate, talking it through with an attorney can make all the difference. I’ve helped many Wilmington-area families navigate probate with clarity and care. A consultation can give you a clear path forward - and peace of mind that nothing will be overlooked.