Probate is holding up your share of an estate. We arrange an advance on part of it and show you the fee and its yearly cost before you sign anything.
What goes wrong when an heir takes the first offer.
The same worksheet comes with every offer.
| Your expected share | $100,000 |
|---|---|
| Amount assigned to the funder | $50,000 |
| Cash advanced now | $40,000 |
| Funder’s fee | $10,000 |
| Yearly cost if probate takes 12 months | 25% |
| Our fee | built into the price |
| Take a larger advance | Take a smaller advance | Wait for probate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash today | $48,000 | $20,000 | $0 |
| Paid to you when probate closes | $40,000 | $75,000 | $100,000 |
| Total you receive | $88,000 | $95,000 | $100,000 |
| What you give up | $12,000 in fees | $5,000 in fees | Cash until probate closes |
Illustrative example. Assumes a $100,000 share is paid in full, and that each advance pays $4 for every $5 assigned (a fee of 25% of the cash advanced, as in the worksheet above). Real offers vary with the estate, and totals are not adjusted for the value of money over time.
The will or trust, or proof of heirshipThe probate case number and courtExecutor and estate attorney contact detailsA list of estate assets and debtsWhen someone dies, their estate usually goes through probate, the court-supervised process of paying debts, valuing or selling assets and filing taxes before anything reaches the heirs. That can take a year or more. An inheritance advance lets you, as an heir, receive part of your share now instead of waiting.
It works by assignment. You sign over a fixed dollar amount of your future inheritance to a funding company, and it pays you a smaller amount today. When the estate distributes, the executor pays the assigned amount to the funder and the rest of your share to you. Note Brokering arranges these advances: we take your file to funders, put the offers side by side and show the cost of each one.
An advance is not a loan. In most contracts you owe nothing more if the estate turns out smaller than expected or distributes late; that risk sits with the funder, and it is what the fee pays for. Read your contract to confirm it, because terms differ. A probate loan made to the estate itself is a separate product with interest charged over time.
You need to be a named beneficiary in a will or trust, or an heir under your state’s law, with an estate that is open in probate or about to be. Funders also want to see an estate with real assets after its debts, and a share that nobody is contesting. Your own credit generally matters little, because the funder is repaid from the estate, not by you.
Rules vary by state, so have the estate’s attorney, or your own, read any assignment before you sign. Our guide on how inheritance advances work covers the market in more depth.
Advances are usually priced as a flat fee, so the same fee costs very different amounts per year depending on when probate closes. In the example above, a $10,000 fee on a $40,000 advance is 25% if the estate distributes in 12 months, 50% a year if it distributes in six, and about 12.5% a year if it takes two years. Ask the estate attorney how long distribution is likely to take before you compare offers, and compare them on their yearly cost as well as the fee.
Many estates include a private note: the person who died sold a house or business and let the buyer pay over time. That note can often be sold, or partly sold, by the executor, and the cash shared out like any other asset. Because a note is priced on a known schedule of payments, selling it can be a cheaper way to raise money than an advance on your whole share. See whether heirs can sell a note before probate closes and inherited notes.
If probate is close to finished, waiting a few months is usually the cheapest money you will ever receive. If there is a will contest or a family dispute, offers will be expensive or will not come at all, and an advance can add friction with the other heirs. If you need a modest, specific amount, take only that: every dollar you assign is gone from your inheritance for good. Telling you to wait for probate is a perfectly good outcome for us.
Usually not. You assign part of your future share and receive a smaller amount now. In most contracts you owe nothing further if the estate pays less or later than expected, but read yours to confirm it.
Normally no. The executor pays the funder the assigned amount from your share when the estate distributes, and you receive the rest. Your own credit generally matters little.
It depends on how long probate takes. A $10,000 fee on a $40,000 advance is 25% if the estate pays out in a year, but 50% a year if it pays out in six months. Ask the estate attorney for a likely timeline before you compare offers.
It is harder. Funders charge more for disputed estates or decline them, because a contest can delay or reduce your share.
Often. The executor can sell the note, or just some of its payments, and share the cash among the heirs. Because a note pays on a known schedule, that can cost less than an advance on your whole share.