Probate and Conservatorship Office

Probate is the court supervised process of identifying and gathering a person's assets after their death, paying all of their debts, and distributing the balance to the rightful heirs or beneficiaries. If an estate exceeds $100,000.00, and if the assets are in the name of the deceased person only, a probate will generally be required.

A conservatorship can be set up after a judge decides that an adult person (called the "conservatee") can't take care of themselves or their finances. Then the judge chooses another person or organization (called the "conservator") to be in charge of the conservatee's care or finances, or both.