The legal process used to pass good title and distribute a decedents assets is known as probate. “Probate assets are assets that are solely in the decedent’s name that pass either through a will, or in the absence of a will, according to state laws.” Whether business assets are subject to probate would depend on if those assets are solely in the decedent’s name. Non-probate assets “are accounts owned jointly with right of survivorship, assets held in a trust, IRAs that pay on death and life insurance and annuities payable on death.” For example, if the stock in a closely held corporation are held jointly then the assets would be classified as being “non-probate.”
See Louis Silverman, Upon death, are business assets subject to probate?, The Arizona Republic, October 13, 2015.
