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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dave70968" data-source="post: 3110770" data-attributes="member: 13624">To do it right, yes.  Technically, without being named as Administrator or Executor, the survivor is writing checks without authority, which is a form of fraud.  Anything with a title (cars, etc.) will also need something from the court authorizing the survivor to re-title it, or else it'd be a fraudulent conveyance.  I'd consider it a "no harm, no foul" matter, but it is still technically improper, and subject to challenge later (see the bit about providing protection for you, the Administrator/Executor).The house/shop may or may not be an issue, depending upon the nature of your joint ownership.  If you're tenants-in-common, you each have a half-interest that is separate from the other, and would need to be probated.  If it's set up as joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTROS), then the decedent's interest automatically reverts to the survivor, and you should be able to take a death certificate to the county clerk to get the property re-deeded.As to cost, it depends upon the lawyer, but I've commonly seen summary probate done for $2500.  I've been known to work for less, especially for people I like.  The benefit isn't just that it gets done as far as getting the court's blessing, but also making sure all of the right mailings go out, notices get published, etc., to extinguish other claims (creditors, potential heirs, etc.).  There's a lot of peace of mind involved, along with "not having to deal with it."  This sort of thing inherently comes up when you have bigger things on your mind--the loss of a loved one--and it can take a load off your mind knowing that it's done right, so you can worry about dealing with your grief.If that's all you did, then the process may require the witnesses to come testify as to the authenticity of the will.  There are a couple of other things we can add to the package to make it self-proving, simplifying probate later.</blockquote>

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