Probate court backlogs make families wait 1-3 years for assets

When a person dies with assets above the small-estate threshold (as low as $50K-$150K depending on state), the estate must go through probate court before heirs receive anything. Probate courts in major metro areas are severely backlogged, with cases in NYC Surrogate's Court, LA Superior Court, and Cook County routinely taking 18-36 months. So what? Surviving spouses and dependents who relied on the deceased's income cannot access bank accounts, sell real estate, or liquidate investments during this period. So what? They take on personal debt, defer mortgage payments, or face foreclosure on a home they legally own but can't access the funds to maintain. So what? A death that should have been financially manageable becomes a financial crisis, and the estate itself shrinks as legal fees accumulate at $300-500/hour for the entire waiting period. This persists because probate courts are underfunded, still rely on paper filings in many jurisdictions, and the process was designed for a pre-digital era when asset verification required physical document review.