A will does not keep you out of probate. It tells the court what you wanted. Someone still has to open the process, and once it is open, anyone can step in. “I cared for your grandmother for three months and she promised me fifty thousand dollars.” A promissory note appears. That is the door a will leaves open.
Transcript
What I said in this clip, lightly edited for readability.
Again, and the same with the will. Not the same. A will merely gives instructions to the court: who you want to receive the inheritance. But again, there's a will, somebody has to go and open the probate process, and anybody can raise a hand and step into the probate and say, "Hey, I took care of your grandma for three months before she passed, and she promised me fifty thousand dollars."
Or suddenly a promissory note appears, that somebody owes someone. Or, a real scenario: somebody contests the will from prison.
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