Tragedy strikes, and the pain of losing a loved one sets in. As if that weren’t enough, dealing with a will (or lack of one) means going to court to settle the estate. If your family member passed away having prepared a will, the will needs to be approved by the probate court before anything is distributed. If they died without a will, it can be even more challenging and the process for that is known as estate administration, which is a form of probate. If you are fortunate, the person who passed put their assets in a trust, where court intervention is not required, and assets transfer in an easier way to the intended recipients.