How Long Does Probate Take? A Timeline-Based Guide
The short answer: about 9 to 18 months for most families. Simple cases close in 4 to 6 months. Complicated or messy ones can stretch past 2 years.
That's the truth no probate lawyer will give you on a phone call, because the real answer depends on a bunch of things — what state you're in, whether there was a will, what your parent (or whoever died) actually left behind, and whether anyone in the family is fighting about it. This guide walks you through what actually shapes the timeline so you can plan for what's likely instead of guessing.
What is probate, exactly?
Probate is the court process that happens after someone dies. The court does three things: it figures out if the will is real (or sorts things out if there isn't one), it makes sure the bills get paid, and it makes sure whatever's left goes to the right people.
Whoever was named in the will to handle all this — usually a spouse, an adult kid, or a sibling — is called the executor. If there's no will, the court picks someone (usually the closest family member) and calls them an administrator. Same job, different name. Either way, that person is the one running around to the courthouse, calling banks, and waiting on the IRS.
Probate exists because the court needs to officially say "yes, these debts are real, and yes, this property is now in the right hands" before banks, the DMV, the title company, or anyone else will accept the change. Without probate, the house can't be sold and the bank account can't be closed.
What are the 4 steps in the probate process?
Most cases follow the same four steps in roughly the same order. The names might be slightly different in your state, but the work is the same.
Open the case. File paperwork at the local court. The court officially names the executor and gives them the document they need to do everything else.
Tell people who're owed money, and write down what's there. Publish a notice in the local paper, list out everything the person owned, and get a tax ID number for the estate.
Pay the bills and file the taxes. Sort through the bills, pay the legitimate ones, push back on the ones that don't add up, and file the deceased person's last tax return.
Hand things out to the family. Sell or transfer the house. Close out accounts. Split up the personal stuff. File a final report with the court showing where every dollar went.
For a deeper walkthrough of what each step involves and what executors get tripped up on, see our executor guide.
A real timeline, week by week
Here's how those four steps play out in real time.
The first 1–2 weeks: open the case
The executor files paperwork at the local court — usually in the county where the person who died lived. The court reviews the will, officially says "yes, you're the executor," and gives them a document called letters testamentary. That document is the magic key — without it, you can't talk to banks, sell a house, or do anything else with the estate.
This step takes a few days to a few weeks depending on how busy your local court is. If there was no will, it takes longer because the court has to decide who in the family should be in charge.
Weeks 2–8: tell the people who're owed money, and write down what's there
The executor has to publish a notice in the local newspaper letting anyone the deceased owed money to come forward. Most states give those people 4 months to make a claim. That 4-month window is the single biggest reason probate has a built-in floor of 4 to 6 months — there's no shortcut around it.
Meanwhile, the executor lists out everything the person owned. Bank accounts. The house. Investments. Retirement accounts. Life insurance. Cars. Jewelry. The business they ran out of the garage. Everything.
They also get something called an estate EIN from the IRS — basically a tax ID number for the estate. Without one, they can't open the special bank account they need to pay bills out of.
Months 2–6: pay the bills and file taxes
Once people start submitting claims for what the deceased owed them, the executor sorts through them, pays the legitimate ones from the estate, and pushes back on the ones that don't add up. This is usually where things slow down. Insurance, medical bills, taxes, mortgages — every one of them has its own back-and-forth.
The executor also has to file the deceased person's last tax return (the one they would have filed in April), and sometimes a separate return for the estate itself if it earned any money during this period. If the estate is really big — over about $13 million in 2026 — there's also a federal estate tax return, and that one alone takes 9 months to file.
Months 6–12: hand things out to the family
Once the bills and taxes are settled, the executor can finally split up what's left. The house gets sold or signed over. Investment accounts get transferred. Personal stuff gets divided up. Each one of those moves has its own paperwork, and in some states you need the court's approval before you can actually sell the house.
Closing the case
After everything is handed out, the executor files a final report with the court showing where every dollar went. The court approves it, and the case is officially closed.
The 7 most common reasons probate drags on
For every family that closes things up in 6 months, there's another one that takes 18 because of one or two of these:
The will is missing or someone's challenging it. If the will can't be found, was sloppily written, or someone in the family is challenging it, you're now in a court fight. That can add a year or more.
There's property in another state. If your dad lived in Texas but had a vacation house in Florida, that Florida house has to go through its own probate in Florida. It runs at the same time as the main one but adds 3 to 6 months.
The family is fighting. If the people who're supposed to inherit can't agree on who gets what, the executor can't hand anything out until it's worked out. That can take months, or end up in front of a mediator or judge.
Tax problems. If the person didn't file their taxes for a few years before they died, or the IRS sends a notice or audit, the estate can't close until that's all sorted.
Selling the house. Selling a home through probate is slower than a normal sale. Buyers know it. Real estate agents know it. Offers come in lower. And in some states, the court has to approve the sale before you can accept an offer.
They owned a business. If the person who died ran a business — even a small one — figuring out what it's worth and who should run it (or buy it) can take 6 to 12 months on its own.
Family arguments over the stuff. Surprisingly, the things that cause the longest delays are usually personal items, not money. Jewelry, art, the dining room table grandma loved. There's no clean way to split things that feel unsplittable.
Probate Image
How long does probate take in your state?
State law is the single biggest factor. Here's what's typical in the bigger US states for a moderately complicated case where nobody's fighting:
| State | Typical timeline | What's worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| California | 9–18 months | The 4-month creditor window plus a slow court system |
| Texas | 6–12 months | Most cases qualify for an easier version called "independent administration" |
| Florida | 6–9 months / 2–3 months for small estates | Estates under $75,000 can use a faster, simpler process |
| New York | 7–24 months | Their probate court (called the Surrogate's Court) is famously slow |
| Pennsylvania | 9–12 months | They have an inheritance tax that adds time |
| Ohio | 6–9 months | The 6-month creditor window is the floor |
| Illinois | 12+ months | Mandatory 6-month creditor window plus court delays |
| North Carolina | 6–12 months | Most cases don't need full court supervision |
| Massachusetts | 9–12 months | Informal version is faster than the supervised one |
| Georgia | 6–9 months | Shorter creditor window than most states |
Probate FAQ
What's the difference between probate and an estate?
The estate is everything someone owned when they died. Probate is the court process for sorting out what happens to that estate. So you don't "have probate" — your estate goes through it.
Can probate take less than 6 months?
Only if it's a small estate (using one of those simplified forms) or if you're in a state that allows expedited probate when everyone in the family signs off and nobody's owed any money. Most regular probates have a 4 to 6 month minimum because of the creditor claim period — it's just law.
What's the longest probate has ever taken?
Famously, the painter Pablo Picasso's case took six years. Closer to home, family fights with multiple people fighting over the will can take 3 to 5 years. Most regular family estates close in well under two years.
Does every estate go through probate?
Nope. Things that have a named beneficiary skip probate entirely — life insurance, retirement accounts, payable-on-death bank accounts. Same with anything held in a living trust. And small estates can use the simplified form. If most of someone's money was in those kinds of accounts, probate might be quick or not even needed.
Who pays for probate?
The estate pays for it, not the family. Court fees, lawyer fees, real estate agent commissions, and the executor's fee (if they're charging one) all come out of the money the deceased left behind. The family doesn't pay out of their own pocket — but the estate does, which means there's less to pass on.
Do you need a lawyer for probate?
Not legally, in most states. But practically, it depends on how complicated things are. If there's a clear will, a small or simple estate, and nobody fighting — you can usually do it yourself or with a portal like ours. If there's no will, big assets, business interests, real estate in multiple states, or family conflict — get a probate lawyer. The estate pays for them anyway.
Can I do probate myself?
Yes, especially for simple cases. Most states have do-it-yourself probate guides on their court websites. The forms aren't impossible. The hard part is keeping track of dozens of deadlines and making sure you don't miss anything that comes back to bite the estate later. That's exactly what we built Good Grief to handle.
What happens if there wasn't a will?
The state has rules for who gets what when someone dies without a will (usually spouse first, then kids, then parents, then siblings). The court picks someone — usually a spouse or adult child — to handle everything, and the timeline is roughly the same as probate with a will. Sometimes a little longer because the court has to figure out who has the right to inherit.
What happens if you skip probate?
In most cases, you can't actually skip it — the bank, the title company, and the DMV all need court paperwork before they'll let you do anything with the deceased person's stuff. If you try to ignore probate, things just sit. The house can't be sold. The accounts can't be closed. The family can't move on. Eventually someone has to file.
Can you skip probate entirely?
You can plan to. The two main ways: (1) put the big stuff in a revocable living trust, and (2) name beneficiaries on bank, retirement, and investment accounts. Both move things to family without the court being involved. But this has to be set up before someone dies, not after.
What is a Small-Estate Probate?
To keep things simple for a smaller estate, some US states offer a path for “summary probate” or “small-estate probate” - the exact rules differ by state or province, so we recommend checking out the specific statutes for your state.
What are the Steps for a Small-Estate Probate?
First you’ll need to determine if the estate is eligible within your state. If the estate’s value is close to the limit, you can sometimes adjust non‑probate assets (for example - retitle a vehicle into joint ownership) to lower the value and bring it under the threshold. Be careful of tax and legal implications if you do go this route.
Otherwise the typical steps are:
Gather consent from any heirs
File with the probate court and pay any fees
Notify heirs of the filing
Pay any valid creditor claims within the deadline
Obtain the discharge order from the court and distribute assets.
File final paperwork to close the estate.
Check out some state-by-state summaries for the rules around small-estate probate here.
The bottom line: probate isn't really about going fast. It's about not making it slower than it has to be. Front-load the work. Keep your paperwork in one place. Get help if the estate is complicated. And accept that some of the calendar is just baked in. If you want a system designed to keep you on track, that's exactly what we built Good Grief to do.
Additional Resources to Learn More About Probate
A complete state-by-state guide on how to avoid probate from Nolo
A great article from Nolo on what happens when someone dies without a will
Important Note
We at Good Grief are not lawyers, just Death Care Technology folks trying to help humans with death literacy and navigating the logistics of loss. If you need specific advice about your individual situation we recommend you do specific research for your state and/or reach out to a legal professional.