What is the difference between a will and an estate?

A will is an estate planning document that generally determines who gets your probate assets after you pass away. An estate is all of your property subject to a probate after you pass away. Thus, a will is a document that determines what happens to your estate.

What is a will?

A last will and testament is a document that allows you to communicate your wishes after you die. A will includes information about how your assets are meant to be distributed, how debts are to be paid, who is supposed to be in charge of your assets after you die, and even who you want to watch your minor children if both guardians pass away. A will is executed while you are still alive but not used until after you are dead.

If you do not have a will, you should strongly consider getting one. A good will is a way to make things easier on the loved ones you leave behind. It can be a source of comfort for family and friends to know they are carrying out your wishes.

What is an estate?

An estate is all your property subject to a probate administration after you die. Most of the time, this just means the property in your name and your name alone. for example, if you own a bank account that is entirely in your name and you have no joint account holders and no beneficiaries, then the bank account will be part of your probate estate after you die. However, if you list a beneficiary on the account, the account will pass to that beneficiary as a matter of contract, something the probate process does not oversee. Thus, a beneficiary designation would move the account out of the probate system and out of your estate. The same thing occurs if someone is a joint account holder on that bank account; the account is not part of your estate because it passes entirely to the joint account holder without probate. Thus, an estate is a term that refers to property that goes through probate process after you pass away.

Simply put, an estate is the property being probated. A will is the document that decides what happens to probated property. Thus, your last will and testament determines what happens to your estate after you die.