Four Reasons To Avoid Probate

Probate is a court-supervised process of administering a person’s estate, or property, after they pass away and distributing the property to their heirs and beneficiaries. Due to the fact that decedents cannot legally own property, assets owned by the deceased must go through probate. During probate, any debt owed by the deceased is also paid using the property within their estate.

Stating that ‘all’ property must go through probate is somewhat misleading, however. There are legal tools available that people can utilize during their lifetime so their heirs and beneficiaries can avoid the probate process after they pass away. Below, our Daytona Beach estate lawyer outlines the benefits of avoiding probate, and how to do it.

Why Avoid Probate?

People want to avoid probate for many reasons. The main reasons are as follows:

Delay inheritances: Beneficiaries and heirs cannot receive any of their inheritances until the estate is settled and probate is closed. Although this is not always an issue, it can be if your loved ones need to pay for funeral expenses and other costs associated with probate and they do not have their inheritance to help. Probate can be a particular problem if your spouse does not have substantial assets or a separate income, as they may not be able to cover their basic living expenses without their inheritance.
Time-consuming: In the best of cases, formal administration can take approximately six months. In the worst of cases, it can take one year or longer. Probate can also be very demanding and inconvenient, as your loved ones will have to juggle appointments, legal rules, paperwork, and deadlines.
Costly: There are many legal fees associated with probate, and creditors have the opportunity to make claims against the estate for unpaid debt. All of this can deplete the assets within the estate, leaving less property for your loved one’s inheritance.
Lack of privacy: Helping your loved ones avoid probate can also help them avoid the conflict, tension, or embarrassment of having sensitive information released to the public. Anything that happens in probate court becomes part of public record, meaning anyone can look up the affairs of the family and estate.

How to Avoid Probate

Fortunately, there are many ways you can help your loved ones avoid probate. These include:

Co-owning property so it is transferred automatically to the surviving owner upon your death
Establishing a trust and funding it with property
Using beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies
Using transfer-on-death (TOD) designations on investment accounts and payable-on-death (POD) designations on bank accounts

Our Estate Lawyer in Daytona Beach Can Help Your Family Avoid Probate

If you want to help your loved ones avoid probate, there are many ways to do it. At Bundza & Rodriguez, our Daytona Beach estate lawyer can advise on what those are, execute the necessary documents properly, and ensure that it is as easy as possible for your loved ones during their time of grief. Call us today at 386-252-5170 or chat with us online to schedule a consultation and to get the legal help you need.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/0733ContentsIndex.html