To claim an inheritance, you take one of two paths depending on how the asset was held: if you were named directly as a beneficiary on an account or policy, you file a claim with that institution using a death certificate and their claim form; if the asset passed through the deceased’s estate, you wait for the executor or court-appointed administrator to work through probate and distribute your share. Most people end up doing both at once, because a single estate usually contains a mix of the two. Knowing which assets take which route is what turns a confusing process into a manageable one.
Get the Paperwork Together
Order certified copies of the death certificate from the vital records office in the state where the death occurred.1USAGov. How to Get a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate Every bank, insurer, retirement plan, and court will ask for one. Fees run roughly $10 to $25 per copy, and five or six copies is a reasonable starting point if the deceased had multiple accounts.
Then find the will. Check the home, safe deposit box, and any attorney’s office the deceased used. The will names an executor and spells out who receives what. While you’re looking, pull together financial statements, account numbers, insurance policies, and deeds. If there’s no will, the estate follows the intestacy track described below, but the records still matter.
Claiming Assets That Skip Probate
A large share of what people inherit never touches the probate court. Life insurance proceeds, 401(k) balances, IRAs, bank accounts set up as “payable on death,” and brokerage accounts registered as “transfer on death” all pay out directly to whoever the account holder named as beneficiary. The beneficiary designation on the account controls, and it overrides anything the will says to the contrary.
To collect, contact the financial institution or insurance company yourself. You don’t need the executor’s permission and you don’t need to wait for probate. Provide a certified death certificate, fill out the company’s claim form, and give them your identifying information. Life insurance claims are commonly paid within 30 to 60 days. Retirement accounts take longer because you have to choose how you want to receive the money, and that choice has tax consequences covered further down.
If the account had no named beneficiary, or the named beneficiary died first and no backup was listed, the asset generally falls back into the probate estate and follows the will.
What Happens When Probate Is Required
For everything the deceased owned in their own name without a beneficiary designation — a house held solely in their name, a checking account without a payable-on-death instruction, personal property — the estate goes through probate. The executor named in the will files it with the local probate court along with the death certificate and a petition asking to be formally appointed. The court then issues Letters Testamentary, which is the executor’s proof of authority to deal with banks, title companies, and other institutions on the estate’s behalf.2Legal Information Institute. Letters Testamentary
From that point, the executor inventories the assets, files the inventory with the court, and gives written notice to known creditors so they can submit claims. Creditor notice periods vary by state, commonly between 30 days and several months. Every legitimate debt and tax bill has to be paid from estate funds before beneficiaries receive anything. Only after debts and taxes clear does the executor petition the court for permission to distribute what remains.
A straightforward estate often runs six months to a year. Contested wills, unclear ownership, or complicated tax situations push the timeline well past that. As a beneficiary, your job during this window is mostly to respond promptly when the executor asks for information, keep your contact details current, and be patient. You’ll receive your share once the court signs off on the final distribution.
When There Is No Will
If the deceased left no will, state intestacy law decides who inherits and in what shares. The order runs roughly the same everywhere: surviving spouse and children first, then parents, siblings, and more distant relatives.3Legal Information Institute. Intestate Succession The exact percentages differ. In some states a surviving spouse inherits everything; in others the spouse splits with the children.
With no will to name an executor, the court appoints an administrator, usually starting with the surviving spouse, then adult children, then other close relatives. The administrator receives Letters of Administration and handles the same tasks an executor would. The difference for you as a beneficiary is that there is no discretion in the distribution — it follows the state’s fixed formula, and asking the administrator to divide things differently won’t work.
The Small Estate Shortcut
Full probate isn’t always necessary. Most states allow a simplified process for smaller estates through a small estate affidavit. If the estate’s total value falls below the state’s threshold, an heir can file a sworn affidavit directly with the bank or other institution holding the assets and collect them without opening a probate case. Thresholds vary widely, from as low as $15,000 to as high as $200,000, with the majority of states landing somewhere between $25,000 and $100,000.
There are conditions. You generally cannot use the affidavit if a probate case has already been opened, and most states require a waiting period of at least 30 to 45 days after the death. Real estate usually doesn’t qualify — if the deceased owned a house, transferring the title typically still requires some court proceeding even when the rest of the estate is small enough to bypass probate. The state probate court website will list the current threshold and the exact form.
What You Owe in Taxes
The fear that a big inheritance triggers a big tax bill is, for most people, misplaced. The rules that actually matter are narrower than they look.
The Inheritance Itself Isn’t Income
Federal law excludes the value of inherited property from your gross income.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 102 – Gifts and Inheritances Cash, a house, a portfolio of stocks — none of it goes on your tax return as income when you receive it. Income the property later generates while you own it, such as rent, dividends, or interest, is taxable in the year you earn it.
Step-Up in Basis on Inherited Property
When you inherit an asset like stock or real estate, your tax basis is reset to the fair market value on the date of death.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent If a parent bought a house for $80,000 and it was worth $400,000 when they died, your basis is $400,000. Sell it for $410,000 and you owe capital gains tax on $10,000, not on the $330,000 gain the original owner would have faced. Beneficiaries who don’t understand this sometimes hold off on selling because they assume the tax hit will be enormous, when in reality it’s often modest.
Inherited Retirement Accounts Are Different
Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s are the major exception to the “inheritances aren’t taxed” rule. The money in these accounts was never taxed, so withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income no matter who takes them. If you are a non-spouse beneficiary, federal law generally requires you to empty the inherited account within 10 years of the original owner’s death.6Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Beneficiary Anything left in the account after that window is subject to an excise tax.7Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements
Certain beneficiaries can spread withdrawals over their own life expectancy instead of squeezing them into 10 years: a surviving spouse, a minor child of the account owner, a disabled or chronically ill person, and anyone not more than 10 years younger than the deceased owner.6Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Beneficiary A surviving spouse can also roll the account into their own IRA, which resets the distribution rules entirely. If the account balance is significant, talk to a tax professional before pulling any money out. How you time distributions across the 10 years can shift your total tax bill by tens of thousands of dollars.
Estate Tax and State Inheritance Tax
Federal estate tax applies only to very large estates. For 2026, the basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per individual, and a married couple can shelter up to $30,000,000 combined.8Internal Revenue Service. Whats New – Estate and Gift Tax When it does apply, the tax is paid by the estate before distribution, not by you. Fewer than 1% of estates owe it.
A handful of states run their own inheritance tax, and that one is paid by the beneficiary rather than the estate. Rates and exemptions vary, and close family members such as spouses and children often qualify for full or partial exemptions. If the deceased lived in or owned property in one of these states, check with a local tax professional to see whether you owe anything.
Turning Down an Inheritance
You don’t have to accept what’s left to you. If taking it would create tax problems, cost you government benefits, or you simply don’t want it, you can formally decline through a qualified disclaimer. Federal rules require the disclaimer to be in writing, delivered within nine months of the date of death, and you cannot already have accepted any benefit from the property.9eCFR. 26 CFR 25.2518-2 – Requirements for a Qualified Disclaimer Once disclaimed, the assets pass as if you had died before the person who left them, which usually sends them to the next person in line under the will or state law.
The nine-month clock is strict and starts at the date of death, not the date you learn about the inheritance. Deposit the check, move into the house, or collect rent, and you’ve accepted the benefit — disclaimer is off the table. If you’re considering it, get a lawyer involved early.
If the Executor Isn’t Moving
Some delays are legitimate. Complex estates, creditor disputes, and estate tax filings genuinely take time. But if a year or more has passed since the executor was appointed and you’ve had no updates or distributions, you can request a formal accounting of where things stand. If the executor ignores you, the probate court can compel them to provide it.
Where an executor is mismanaging assets, favoring one beneficiary over another, or refusing to follow the will, beneficiaries can petition the court to remove them. Executors owe a fiduciary duty to every beneficiary, and courts take these petitions seriously. Filing often prompts cooperation on its own, since most executors would rather comply than face a hearing. For an estate large enough to matter, a probate attorney is usually worth the cost at this stage.