Any discussion of estate property is certain to include reference to the word "probate." At death, a decedent's property is separated into two groups — probate property, and non-probate property. Which group a piece of property falls into will determine the means by which it is transferred at the owner's death.

The term "probate" refers generally to the processing of a person's will and the managing of the decedent's assets through the courts. Probate property includes those assets that are passed through the terms of a decedent's will. It also includes property that would normally pass through a person's will, but instead is subject to the state's intestacy laws because the decedent died without a will.

"Non-probate" property is any property that is transferred by some means other than a decedent's will or the state's intestacy laws. It includes jointly owned property with the right of survivorship, which passes automatically to the surviving joint owner. Non-probate property also includes any financial asset (e.g., life insurance and annuities) that includes a named beneficiary; at the owner's death, this type of property is transferred directly by the financial institution to the named beneficiary.

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