Category Archives: Probate

This glossary covers the words that come up most often in estate planning, organized by topic so you can find what you need quickly. Whether you’re preparing for a first meeting with an estate planning attorney in Alabama, reading through a draft will, or helping an aging parent make sense of their documents, this is …

A plain-English guide to Alabama estate planning for families who want their assets protected and their wishes honored. Quick answer: A will and a revocable living trust do different jobs. A will takes effect at death and is filed with the probate court; a trust takes effect the moment you sign it and passes assets …

Quick answer: Alabama lets many families skip full probate through a court process called summary distribution, commonly called a small estate affidavit. It only applies to estates made up entirely of personal property, valued at or under a limit that changes every year for inflation (approximately $47,000 for 2026, subject to the annual adjustment published …