July 11, 2026

Probate Intake Forms: What to Capture Before You File a Single Petition

Probate matters have a way of looking simple on the surface. Someone has passed away, there are assets to distribute, and someone needs authority to manage the estate. But the number of things that can go wrong between that first phone call and the Letters Testamentary actually issuing is enormous — and almost all of those problems trace back to incomplete information at intake.

I have seen estate attorneys open files with nothing more than a death certificate, a copy of the will, and the name of the person who wants to serve as executor. Three months later, they discover a second property in another county, a family member who was disinherited and plans to contest, and a creditor claim that could have been anticipated if anyone had asked the right questions on day one. That is not bad lawyering — it is bad intake.

A proper probate intake form is not a generic legal questionnaire with a few estate-specific fields tacked on. It is a structured document that walks through everything you need to know before you draft the petition, advise the fiduciary, or make representations to the Surrogate's Court about the nature and extent of the estate.

Decedent information: more than a name and a date of death

Every probate intake starts with who died and when. But the details around that basic fact determine jurisdiction, procedural requirements, and potential complications that shape the entire case.

You need the decedent's full legal name and any prior names used — maiden names, married names, name changes. Title to real property or financial accounts may be held under a prior name, and if the name on the deed does not match the name on the death certificate, you will need to establish the connection. Capture the date of death, the place of death, the decedent's last domicile, and whether they were domiciled in the same state where you are filing. A decedent who owned property in multiple states triggers ancillary probate proceedings, and you want to know about that at intake, not when a title company calls you six weeks in.

You also need the decedent's Social Security number. The estate will need its own EIN from the IRS, but the SSN is required for the final personal income tax return, and it is how you trace financial accounts, insurance policies, and government benefits that may be owed to the estate.

Will status: does one exist, and where is it?

This sounds obvious, but it is the single most consequential question on the entire intake form. Whether a will exists determines whether you are filing a petition for probate or a petition for administration. Whether the will is in the decedent's possession, with an attorney, filed with the court during the decedent's lifetime, or missing entirely changes your procedural path.

Your intake should capture: whether a will exists, the date it was executed, where the original is located, whether there are any codicils, whether the decedent ever mentioned or executed a prior will, and whether anyone has suggested the will is invalid. If the will is self-proving (executed with a notarized attestation clause), that simplifies probate. If it is not, you need to locate witnesses. If a witness is deceased or unavailable, you are looking at proof of handwriting or other authentication methods. All of this needs to surface at intake so you can plan accordingly.

If there is no will — or if the will cannot be found — you are in intestacy. Your intake then needs to capture the family tree in enough detail to identify the distributees under your state's intestacy statute. And that brings us to the next section.

Family tree and beneficiaries

Whether there is a will or not, you need a complete picture of the decedent's family. In a testate estate, the will names the beneficiaries, but you still need to identify the decedent's spouse, children (including predeceased children who may have issue), and anyone who was intentionally omitted — because those are the people most likely to file objections.

In an intestate estate, the family tree is the distribution plan. The intake form must capture the decedent's marital status at death, all children (biological and adopted), predeceased children and their descendants, parents (if no children survive), and siblings. In some states, the inquiry extends further — to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins — if no closer relatives survive. If the decedent had children from multiple relationships, or if there are questions about paternity or adoption, note that at intake because it creates potential standing issues for distributees.

For testate estates, list every named beneficiary from the will: their full name, relationship to the decedent, contact information, and whether they are a minor or an incapacitated person (which triggers guardian or guardian ad litem requirements). If the will creates a trust, capture the trustee designation and successor trustee information as well.

Executor and administrator information

Somebody needs to run this estate. Your intake must capture who is nominated in the will as executor (or who is petitioning for appointment as administrator), their relationship to the decedent, and whether they are eligible to serve. Eligibility requirements vary by state — some states disqualify convicted felons, non-residents, or minors from serving as fiduciary. If the nominated executor is unwilling or unable to serve, you need to identify alternates named in the will or determine the order of priority under your state's statute.

Capture whether the nominated fiduciary is willing to serve, whether they understand the responsibilities (this is not a checkbox — it informs your counseling obligation), and whether there are co-executors or successor executors named. If there is a corporate fiduciary (a bank trust department, for example), note that separately because they have their own fee structures and requirements.

Estate assets: the full inventory starts here

Your intake form is not meant to replace the formal estate inventory you will file with the court, but it needs to capture enough information to give you a working picture of the estate's size and complexity. This determines whether you are handling a small estate (which may qualify for simplified probate procedures in your state), a standard estate, or something that is going to require accountants, appraisers, and potentially a referee.

The intake should walk through each asset category:

• Real property — address, type (primary residence, rental, vacant land, commercial), approximate value, outstanding mortgage balance, whether title is held solely or jointly, and the form of joint ownership (joint tenants with right of survivorship, tenants in common, tenancy by the entirety). Joint tenancy property with a right of survivorship passes outside of probate, so identifying the form of ownership at intake tells you whether the property is even part of the probate estate.
• Bank and brokerage accounts — institution, account type, approximate balance, whether payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations exist. POD and TOD accounts pass outside of probate, just like joint accounts with survivorship. If the client does not know whether these designations exist, note that you need to confirm with the financial institution.
• Retirement accounts and life insurance — 401(k), IRA, pension, and life insurance policies all pass by beneficiary designation, not by will. Your intake should capture who is listed as beneficiary, because if the designated beneficiary predeceased the decedent and no contingent beneficiary was named, the proceeds may pour into the probate estate after all.
• Personal property — vehicles, jewelry, artwork, collections, household furnishings. Identify items of significant value that will need appraisal.
• Business interests — ownership in LLCs, partnerships, closely held corporations, sole proprietorships. A business interest complicates estate administration significantly. You need to know about it at intake so you can advise on interim management, valuation, and buyout provisions in any operating agreement.

If the estate includes assets that typically pass outside probate (joint accounts, POD designations, retirement accounts, life insurance, revocable trusts), capture those separately. They affect the overall estate picture even though they are not part of the probate estate. Related forms like our estate planning intake capture trust and beneficiary-designation information in more detail if the matter has a planning component alongside the probate administration.

Debts, liens, and creditor claims

An estate cannot distribute anything to beneficiaries until creditors are paid or the claims period has expired. Your intake should capture known debts: mortgage balances, credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, tax obligations, funeral expenses, and any judgments or liens against the decedent or the estate property. If the decedent was in a nursing home or receiving Medicaid, there may be a Medicaid estate recovery claim that takes priority. For clients dealing with elder law and Medicaid planning issues alongside probate, that overlap needs to be identified early.

Ask whether the estate is likely solvent or insolvent. If debts exceed assets, the estate is insolvent, and the order of priority for paying creditors changes everything about how you administer it. You do not want to discover insolvency after you have already distributed assets to beneficiaries.

Prior proceedings and potential contests

Finally, your intake should ask whether there have been any prior estate proceedings — a guardianship during the decedent's lifetime, a prior will that was filed with the court, or any pending litigation involving the decedent at the time of death (personal injury claims, contract disputes, pending lawsuits that survive death). These matters do not disappear when someone dies; they become claims by or against the estate.

And you need to ask the hard question: is anyone likely to contest the will or object to the appointment of the fiduciary? If a disinherited child has already hired an attorney, or if a family member is alleging undue influence or lack of capacity, that changes your strategy from day one. Better to know at intake than to find out when the citation is served.

Why this matters for your practice

A good probate intake form is not busywork. It is the difference between opening a file that you can work efficiently and opening a file that generates surprise after surprise for months. Every question on the form exists because the answer affects a decision you will need to make — whether to file for probate or administration, whether to seek a bond waiver, whether to publish notice to creditors, whether to hire an appraiser, whether to expect a will contest.

Our probate intake form follows the standard 3-page litigation format designed by a licensed attorney admitted in New Jersey and New York. It is a fillable PDF that your staff can use on a tablet, laptop, or printed copy. Every field is there because it maps to something you actually need to know.