Probate assets are those assets that will pass under the Will via the Probate process. Often the easiest way to identify which assets are Probate assets is to begin by identifying the assets that are not Probate assets.
Assets held by any Trust upon death are assets of that Trust, and are thus not assets of the Probate Estate.
Generally, any asset or property with a joint owner is not a Probate asset. Thus, the joint owner, presuming they did not predecease, takes full ownership upon death. When this involves real estate, it is important to have an Estates & Trusts attorney review the deed as there are numerous types of joint ownership and not all leave the surviving joint owner as sole owner. A deeper discussion on this topic is beyond our scope here.
In addition, assets that have beneficiaries named pass directly to those individuals. Again, this presumes that a named beneficiary did not predecease. Retirements plans, life insurance and annuities are the most common examples of assets that generally have beneficiaries named.
Beneficiaries may be named on other accounts using POD and TOD designations. POD stands for Payable on Death and is generally used on bank accounts. TOD stands for Transfer on Death and is generally used on brokerage accounts, stock, bonds, mutual funds and other securities.
In Maryland, the MVA also allows naming a beneficiary of your vehicle (or boat or RV or personal water craft).
In all of the above situations, while the Personal Representative may “discover” these assets, it is incumbent upon the named beneficiary to claim the assets directly.
By way of the process of elimination above, any remaining asset is an asset of the Estate and must be Probated.