What are probate assets?

Assets owned in the name of the deceased person alone are probate assets and at the time of death must be administered through the probate process. Assets that are not probate property pass outside of the probate process and are not subject to the supervision of the courts. Examples of such property are joint property such as joint bank accounts which automatically pass to the surviving joint owner or owners, insurance policies that name as beneficiary anyone or any entity other than the deceased person's estate and the most popular entity for avoiding probate, the living trust.