To open a probate case, you need a certified copy of the death certificate, the original will if the person left one, a completed petition for probate, a list of heirs and known creditors with current addresses, an inventory of the assets that actually go through probate, and enough cash to cover the filing fee, newspaper publication, and possibly a surety bond. That is the short answer to what you need for probate court. The specific forms and dollar thresholds vary by state and county, but the categories above are consistent everywhere.
The Core Documents
Start with a certified copy of the death certificate from the vital records office in the county or state where the person died. Order several at once. Banks, insurers, and government agencies each want their own original, and an informational copy without the official stamp will not be accepted for legal purposes.
If there is a will, bring the original signed document, not a photocopy. Courts treat a missing original as a signal that the testator may have destroyed it on purpose, and admitting a copy usually requires a separate hearing with witness testimony about the signing. That hearing can add weeks or months. Any codicils (amendments to the will) need to be the originals too.
When there is no will, the case proceeds under your state’s intestacy statute, which ranks surviving relatives in a fixed order, typically starting with a spouse and children, then moving outward to parents, siblings, and more distant family. The same priority list determines who the court appoints as administrator.
Figuring Out Which Assets Actually Need Probate
Before you file anything, work out what belongs in the probate estate, because a surprising amount of property transfers outside of court entirely. Life insurance proceeds, 401(k)s, IRAs, and annuities pass to whoever is named on the beneficiary form. Bank accounts with a payable-on-death (POD) designation and investment accounts with a transfer-on-death (TOD) registration do the same.
Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship belongs to the surviving co-owner automatically; the survivor files a death certificate with the record-keeper and that is the end of it. A will cannot override this. Tenancy by the entirety, available to married couples in many states, works the same way. Assets already placed in a revocable living trust pass under the trust’s terms through the successor trustee, bypassing probate entirely.
Add up only what is left: assets with no beneficiary designation, not jointly owned, and not in a trust. That number is your probate estate, and it drives everything that follows.
One boundary worth knowing before you prepare a full filing: most states offer a small estate affidavit for estates under a dollar threshold that ranges from roughly $15,000 to $200,000, with most states falling between $50,000 and $100,000. Real estate is often excluded, and there is usually a 30 to 45 day waiting period after death. If your probate estate fits under the threshold, you may be able to skip the petition and inventory process described below and present a sworn affidavit directly to whoever holds the property.
Information You’ll Need for the Petition
The petition for probate is the form that asks the court to open the estate and appoint you as personal representative (called executor when there is a will, administrator when there isn’t). You can get the form from the probate clerk in the county where the deceased lived or download it from the court’s website. Clerks reject incomplete petitions, so every section needs to be filled in before you file.
About the deceased, you’ll need the full legal name, date of death, last address, and whether they died with or without a will. About yourself, you’ll need to state your relationship to the deceased and your basis for serving: the will names you, or you have priority under intestacy law.
The part that takes the most legwork is the people list. You must identify every heir-at-law and every beneficiary named in the will, with full names, current addresses, ages, and relationship to the deceased. Heirs-at-law are the people who would inherit under intestacy regardless of what the will says, and they are entitled to notice even if the will leaves them nothing. A wrong name or stale address can get your filing bounced or force you to restart the notification clock.
You also need to list known creditors: credit card issuers, medical providers, mortgage lenders, and anyone else the deceased owed money to. They have to be formally notified so they can submit claims.
The Asset Inventory
The court wants a complete picture of what the deceased owned, with enough detail that each item can be identified and tracked. Expect to file a formal inventory after your appointment, but you need to assemble the information before you file the petition because asset values affect the bond amount and sometimes the filing fee.
For real estate, list the full street address and a property description; some courts want the tax assessor’s parcel number. For bank and investment accounts, list the institution, the account number or last four digits depending on local rules, and the balance as of the date of death. Vehicles need year, make, model, and estimated value.
Valuable personal property such as jewelry, art, and antiques usually needs a professional appraisal rather than your own estimate. Real estate almost always requires a formal appraisal or, in states that use them, a probate referee’s valuation. Line up these appraisals early; waiting until the inventory is due slows the whole case down.
Notice Requirements You Have to Satisfy
Probate courts take notice seriously, and you have two separate obligations.
Direct notice goes by mail to every heir, beneficiary, and known creditor. You then file proof with the court, usually a sworn statement or affidavit, confirming you sent it. If someone cannot be located, the court will expect you to document the steps you took to find them. Sloppy notice can invalidate the proceeding.
Published notice is a legal announcement in a local newspaper of general circulation in the county where the case is filed, directed at unknown creditors. Most jurisdictions require publication for two to three consecutive weeks. Publication starts a claim-filing clock of roughly 30 to 90 days depending on state law, after which late claims are generally barred.
Money You Need Upfront
Probate is not free, and some of these costs come out of your pocket before the estate can reimburse you. Budget for the following before you file.
- Filing fee for the petition, which ranges from roughly $50 to $1,200 depending on the jurisdiction and the estate’s value.
- Newspaper publication of creditor notice, typically $100 to $500 depending on local rates and the number of weeks required.
- A probate bond, if the court requires one. The bond amount is tied to the total value of estate assets plus expected income, and the annual premium generally runs 0.5% to 1% of that amount. If the will waives the bond, or every beneficiary consents to a waiver, the judge can skip it.
- Attorney fees, which some states set by statute as a percentage of the gross estate (commonly between 2% and 5%) and others allow as hourly or flat fees. On a $500,000 estate, a statutory percentage could mean $10,000 to $25,000. Not every estate needs an attorney, but contested wills, complex assets, or family disputes almost always do.
- Personal representative compensation, which in statutory-fee states mirrors the attorney’s percentage and in others is set at a reasonable amount by the court. You can waive this fee, and family members often do on smaller estates.
- Appraisal and accounting costs. For larger estates, administration costs frequently exceed $1,000 before attorney fees are added.
Most of these come back to you from the estate, but the initial filing fee, bond premium, and publication charges typically have to be paid before there is an estate bank account to pay them from.
Tax Items to Line Up
A few tax steps belong on your intake list because you cannot open an estate bank account or deal with the IRS without them.
Apply for a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) for the estate. You need it to open the estate bank account, file tax returns, and conduct any financial business on the estate’s behalf. The IRS issues it online immediately.1Internal Revenue Service. Responsibilities of an Estate Administrator
File IRS Form 56 to notify the IRS you are acting as fiduciary for the deceased taxpayer, so IRS correspondence about the estate or the person’s prior filings reaches you.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56
Plan to file the deceased person’s final individual income tax return (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) covering income from January 1 through the date of death, due on the normal April deadline the following year. If prior-year returns were not filed, those come due too.3Internal Revenue Service. File the Final Income Tax Returns of a Deceased Person
If the estate itself earns more than $600 in gross income during administration (from interest, rent, dividends, or business operations), you must also file Form 1041, the estate income tax return. That is separate from the deceased person’s final 1040.4Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1041
Federal estate tax is a separate matter and affects very few estates: for 2026 the exemption is $15 million per individual. Some states impose their own estate or inheritance taxes at much lower thresholds, so check your state’s rules even when the federal exemption clearly applies.
What the Court Gives You Back
Once you file the petition, pay the filing fee, and the notice period passes, the court schedules a hearing. If no one contests and the judge finds everything in order, you receive your formal grant of authority. With a will, it is called Letters Testamentary. Without one, Letters of Administration. The practical effect is the same: you are now legally authorized to act on the estate’s behalf.
These letters are what you present to banks, title companies, and government agencies to access accounts and transfer property. Order several certified copies from the court; every institution wants its own. This is also when you open the estate bank account using the EIN you obtained earlier and begin collecting assets and paying bills.
From filing to receiving letters typically runs a few weeks to a couple of months when nobody objects. Contested cases take considerably longer.