Waiting on an inheritance can take months—or even years—while bills and expenses keep piling up. In this webinar,  ProbateCash CEO, Marc Harris, explains how their company provides fast, non-recourse inheritance advances to heirs waiting for probate to close.

What you’ll learn:

Key Takeaways

• Solving the Liquidity Gap: Most heirs expect immediate access to funds, but probate can take months or years. Probate Cash provides immediate liquidity.
• Non-Recourse Funding: Inheritance purchases are not loans; there are no credit checks, monthly payments, or personal liability if the estate assets fall short.
• Value for Law Firms: These advances can help clients pay for probate filing fees, property repairs to increase resale value, or litigation costs in adversarial cases.
• Transparency and Law: Probate Cash operates under frameworks like California Probate Code 11604.5, ensuring transparency and consumer protection.

Full Transcript

Molly Driscoll: Welcome and thanks for joining today’s session, “How Probate Cash Can Help Your Clients and Your Firm.” I’m your host, Molly Driscoll. Our presenter today is a professional with extensive experience in the probate field. Marc Harris is an attorney admitted to the Florida Bar and the Southern District of Florida. He is also a member of the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section.

Marc has been in the specialty finance industry for over 25 years and has been involved in purchasing over $100 million worth of assets. As the CEO of Probate Cash, Marc is spearheading a relatively new industry: purchasing interests in actively pending inheritance claims from estates or trusts. Marc, can you start us off with what Probate Cash does?

Marc Harris: Thanks, Molly. I appreciate everybody being here. We have folks from all over the country—lawyers, paralegals, and even judges. Probate Cash is a company that purchases inheritances—specifically, portions of inheritances. When a probate case is opened and beneficiaries are waiting for their distribution, they often realize that probate can take a year or more, even if it isn’t adversarial.

Many heirs are counting on that money immediately to pay bills or even to open the probate case itself. We provide upfront money in exchange for a purchase of a portion of the inheritance. This is an assignment of interest and it is non-recourse. We make these advances prior to the claims period expiring, and our purchases are subject to creditor claims and other obstacles in the probate courts.

Molly Driscoll: How does an inheritance purchase from Probate Cash work?

Marc Harris: It starts with us looking at the probate case. Our underwriters are very experienced paralegals who review the case to ensure the person asking for money is indeed a valid beneficiary. We look at the assets—for example, if there is real property, we check for mortgages or equity.

Often, a $25,000 to $50,000 improvement to a house can significantly increase its fair market value compared to selling it quickly to a cash buyer. We help fund those improvements. Once we decide to move forward, we speak with the estate attorney to let them know a beneficiary has solicited us. We then file the assignment of inheritance with the probate court, which directs the personal representative to pay Probate Cash from that specific person’s share before they receive the remainder. We know our place in the “pecking order”—we are paid after creditor claims and attorney fees.

Molly Driscoll: I know you’ve mentioned that funding these purchases can take only one to two business days. How can Probate Cash fund so quickly?

Marc Harris: We can often fund the same day or within 48 hours. The reason we are so fast is that this is not a loan. We don’t do credit checks, we don’t look at credit scores, and we don’t take a security interest in collateral. We are only interested in the inheritance itself. Because it isn’t a loan, there is no interest rate or monthly payments that would cause a default. We simply wait until the probate case closes to be repaid from the estate assets.

Molly Driscoll: What are some of the pros and cons of an inheritance purchase?

Marc Harris: For an attorney, a major pro is that it takes the pressure off the firm and the personal representative. Beneficiaries are often frustrated and calling the firm constantly asking for money. Knowing there is an option for them to get cash upfront is a huge relief.

Another pro is protecting the estate’s value. Our funds can be used to pay taxes or renovate a property so it sells for a much higher price.

As for the cons, these fees are expensive. This is not “inexpensive money.” Our fees typically start at around 25% of the amount purchased. If we provide $10,000, the cost is usually at least $2,500. It’s a great tool if you’re using it to save a house or handle a necessity, but I’d caution against using it for luxury items like a Disney World vacation. If you can qualify for a traditional bank loan, you should do that first. But if you have no collateral or poor credit and need money immediately, we are the solution.

Molly Driscoll: How specifically can Probate Cash help law firms?

Marc Harris: We see many law firms that spend money on marketing and get a flow of new probate cases, but the clients don’t have the money to pay the upfront costs to open the probate. Depending on your state’s laws, you might need a retainer or filing fees. It hurts to turn away a client with a million-dollar property just because they can’t afford the $5,000 in upfront costs. We can provide an advance to the beneficiary or the proposed administrator specifically to get the probate opened. This way, the firm doesn’t have to send that client down the street to a competitor.

Molly Driscoll: How does a purchase for one beneficiary affect the others, or the case itself?

Marc Harris: That is a vital question for lawyers. We are in “contract privity” only with the beneficiary receiving the money. If there is a shortfall—say the heir is supposed to get $50,000 but only ends up with $30,000—we cannot look to the other beneficiaries for the difference. We are not a creditor of the estate; we are an assignee of a specific interest. Furthermore, this process does not prolong the probate or add material work for the attorney.

Molly Driscoll: Can multiple beneficiaries get an inheritance purchase?

Marc Harris: Yes, that happens frequently. One sibling gets funded in two days, tells the others it’s real, and they follow suit. We can also provide “stage-based” advances. We might be conservative at the start of a case, but once the claims period expires or a petition for final distribution is filed, we can provide additional funds because the risk is lower.

Molly Driscoll: Are there specific laws that govern these purchases?

Marc Harris: Yes. California has the oldest and most established law, California Probate Code 11604.5. It’s very consumer-protection oriented and provides a clear roadmap for what must be in the contract. Utah recently adopted a similar model under Utah Code 75-3-918.

In states without specific statutes, like Georgia, Texas, or South Carolina, we use the California and Utah frameworks as our “gold standard.” We use the same disclosures and transparent contracts. I also personally require a recorded closing call with every customer to ensure they fully understand the terms before we send any money.

Molly Driscoll: We have a question from the chat: “I represent a plaintiff challenging heirship. Do you make purchases in adverse cases?”

Marc Harris: Yes, we do. Those are trickier because the inheritance doesn’t technically exist yet, but we can help provide funds to sustain the client during the litigation process. We generally prefer that the attorney is working on a contingency basis, showing they believe in the merits of the case as much as the client does.

Molly Driscoll: Another question: “How do I help my client qualify?”

Marc Harris: Just call us. Whether it’s your client or a sibling of your client who is driving you crazy asking for money, you can direct them to us. We believe in “no surprises.” We will ask the estate attorney for their best guess on creditor claims or if someone is living in the estate property who might refuse to move out. We work closely with the firm to make sure the transaction is smooth.

Molly Driscoll: Thank you, Marc. If you have further questions, you can reach Marc Harris at 561-476-0018 or email him at marc@probatecash.com.