I have been told nine months after his death. I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. There is no set time frame for distributing the estate. The nine months you are referring to is when the estate tax return must be filed. Many people confuse probate and estate taxes.
Probate is a state procedure while estate taxes are federal.
Many people believe if you avoid probate you avoid taxes and vice versa. Unfortunately, the two have nothing to do with each other. I have always been a strong believer that estate planning is essential for everyone. Proper estate planning allows you to avoid probate, eliminate or substantially reduce estate taxes and most importantly avoid the inevitable family squabbles. Probably the most effective estate planning tool is the Living Trust.