Assets That Go Through Probate in Pennsylvania

• Probate is what happens to people's property after they die. After an individual's death, an executor or administrator will take over her estate, wrap up her affairs and debts and see that her property is disposed of according to her wishes. Unlike some states, probate in Pennsylvania may only take a few months, the Allegheny County Bar Association states, because the executor has the authority to carry out decisions quickly.
  
  

Assets

• With a few exceptions, all the assets controlled by the decedent at the time of his death go through probate, the Allegheny Bar states. That includes bank accounts, stocks, real estate and the decedent's personal property.
  
  

Retirement Accounts

• Retirement accounts are one of the exceptions, Pennsylvania attorney Jeremy Nicholas states. The money in 401k and IRA accounts isn't distributed based on the decedent's will, but goes to the beneficiaries designated in the account documents. Life insurance and bank accounts with "pay on death" designations are exempt from probate for similar reasons.
  
  

Joint Ownership

• It's possible to own assets jointly with another person, rather than individually. Under Pennsylvania law, the bar association states, anything the decedent owned jointly with her spouse passes to the spouse without the need for probate, as do bank accounts jointly owned with anyone. If an asset such as a real-estate investment is jointly owned with the right of survivorship, then the decedent's share passes automatically to the joint owners.
  
  

Living Trusts

• A living trust is a tool many people use to keep some of their property out of probate. An individual can create a trust, appoint himself as trustee, then transfer property into the trust; at his death, it passes into the control of whoever was appointed as substitute trustee, and doesn't go through probate.