If your name is already on a deed to real estate as a joint owner and the deed has already been filed at the Recorder of Deeds, that real estate passes automatically to you at the death of the co-owner, and no probate proceeding is necessary to pass title to that piece of real estate. If your name is already on a deed but not as a joint owner (instead, as a tenant in common), a probate proceeding will be necessary to transfer the decedent’s share of the property to you. If the asset is a joint bank account, it may or may not be subject to a probate proceeding depending upon when the account was established and the intent of the decedent.