Tuscaloosa County
Probate attorney in Tuscaloosa.
When someone dies owning property in their own name, the Tuscaloosa County Probate Court is where the legal work happens. We carry that process for the family, at whatever pace you can manage, and tell you what comes next before it happens.
Downtown on Greensboro Avenue, on the same street as the court
The short answer
First, we are sorry for your loss.
If you searched for a probate attorney in Tuscaloosa, you are probably here because a bank asked for something you have never heard of, or someone told you there is a court process and nobody explained it. Here is the short version.
Probate is the court-supervised process for moving what a person owned, in their own name alone, to the people entitled to receive it. In Tuscaloosa County it runs through the Probate Court at the county courthouse on Greensboro Avenue, a short walk up the street from our office. Not everything goes through it: property that passes by title, by beneficiary form, or through a trust generally does not.
We handle the process from the petition to the closing, keep the record straight, and track the deadlines, so the job does not become one more thing that went wrong this year. The first step is a free 15-minute call, where we look at what your loved one owned and tell you whether a probate is even required.
The Tuscaloosa County Probate Court process
What generally happens, in order
Someone files a petition
Usually the person the will names as executor, who files the original will and a petition with the Probate Court. If there is no will, a close relative who expects to inherit files instead, asking to be appointed administrator. The people entitled to know, the heirs and the beneficiaries, are notified.
The court appoints a personal representative
If there is a will, the court admits it and issues letters testamentary. If there is not, it issues letters of administration. Those letters are the document a bank, a title company, or a buyer asks to see before they will deal with anyone about the estate. This is the authority the whole process exists to give you.
Creditors are told
A notice runs in a local newspaper for several weeks, and known creditors are written to directly. Creditors then have a fixed window to bring a claim. Much of what feels like nothing happening is this window running. It is built into the process, and the estate cannot sensibly be closed until it has passed.
The estate is gathered and accounted for
The personal representative identifies what the estate holds, collects it, and keeps a record. Where the court requires it, an inventory is filed. Real property in Tuscaloosa County gets sorted out here: whether it is sold, kept, or passed to an heir.
Debts are paid and what is left is distributed
Valid claims and any taxes are paid from the estate. What remains goes where the will directs, or where Alabama law directs if there is no will. A final settlement is filed, the court approves it, and the estate is closed.
This is a description of how an ordinary Alabama probate runs, not advice about yours. Every estate is different, and which of these steps apply, and in what form, depends on what your loved one owned and how it was titled.
If you have been named executor
This is a legal job, and the exposure is yours.
Alabama’s probate code runs to pages of rules an executor is required to follow, and there are deadlines for filing things with the court. An executor who gets those wrong can be held personally liable for what the estate loses.
Almost nobody named as executor has done it before. That is not a reflection on you, and it is not a reason to be afraid of the role. It is the reason to have someone alongside you who does this work in this court regularly.
Who this is for
The situations that usually bring families to us
- You were named executor in the will of someone who lived in Tuscaloosa County, and you have never done this before.
- There is no will, and the family needs someone with authority to deal with the house, the accounts, or the land.
- You live out of state, and a parent's home in Tuscaloosa is sitting in their name with nobody able to sell it.
- A bank, a title company, or the court has sent you a letter using words you have never heard.
- There was a trust, and one asset was never put into it, so part of the estate has to go through court anyway.
- You are a beneficiary, and the person handling the estate will not tell you what is happening.
From our clients
“Both of our daughters live out of state. When we learned of the process to probate a will in Alabama we wanted to make process as easy as possible. Luke was very helpful explaining difference between will vs trust.”
Rusty D., from their Google review
Read what clients say · Every review on Google
This review describes one client’s experience. It is not a promise or prediction about your matter.
Where we are
On the same street as the court.
The Tuscaloosa County Probate Court sits in the county courthouse at 714 Greensboro Avenue, Room 121. Our office is a short walk down the same street. Luke Barry founded the firm and handles the probate work. Lane Jones is Of Counsel for the business side.
- Office
- Dogwood Estate Planning
601 Greensboro Ave #290
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 - Call
- (205) 469-8715
- Tuscaloosa County Probate Court
- Tuscaloosa County Courthouse
714 Greensboro Avenue, Room 121
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 - Serving
- Estates opened in Tuscaloosa County, the counties around it, and across Alabama.
Common questions
What families in Tuscaloosa ask us first
Does the estate have to be opened in Tuscaloosa County?
Generally, probate is opened in the county where the person lived when they died. If your loved one lived in Tuscaloosa County, this is the court. If they lived elsewhere but owned land here, there may need to be a proceeding here as well. Working out which court, and whether anything needs to be opened at all, is the first thing we do on the call.
Do we actually need a probate, or can the family just handle it?
Sometimes there is nothing to open. If everything your loved one owned passed by title or by beneficiary form, there may be no probate estate at all, and we will tell you that on the first call rather than open a file. But anything owned in their name alone generally cannot be sold, transferred, or closed out until the court appoints someone with authority to do it.
Can I do this myself, without a lawyer?
A lawyer is not always required, and we will say so when the answer is no. But the personal representative has real duties, deadlines that are not obvious from the outside, and personal exposure for getting them wrong. If there is real property, a business, a disagreement among heirs, or debts that may exceed the estate, get advice before a step is taken that cannot be undone.
How long is this going to take?
Longer than anyone wants. A straightforward Alabama probate usually takes about a year, and much of that is waiting built into the process rather than work sitting on a desk. Complicated ones run longer. A small estate may qualify for a shorter summary procedure, which is worth asking about rather than assuming either way.
What does it cost, and who pays?
Legal fees turn on the size and complexity of the estate, and there are court costs and filing fees on top of them. Most of it is ordinarily paid out of the estate rather than out of your own pocket. We give you the shape of it, in writing, before you decide anything.
Do we have to use the lawyer who wrote the will?
No. Preparing a will does not give a lawyer any claim on the probate. You are free to bring it to whoever you want to work with, and the thing to look for is someone who does this work regularly and will tell you plainly what is happening.
The longer explanation of what probate is for, and what does not have to go through it, is on the probate page. If there was a trust, start with trust and estate administration.
Keep reading
Guides on this subject
Start with a post-death review.
Fifteen minutes, no charge. We will look at what your loved one owned, tell you whether probate is even required, and give you the next step. Nothing has to be decided on the call.