AVOID PROBATE, AVOID HEARTACHE

There are many articles from estate planners warning the public on the problems with probate. What exactly IS the problem with probate? Time and money, and the surviving family members usually pay the price for both. Probate, the court supervised process of transferring a deceased owner’s assets to their heirs, either by will or by law, can take anywhere from a couple of months to several years to complete. And depending on the complexity of the estate, and the disputes that may arise, probate costs can start at $2,500 up to tens of thousands of dollars.

What most articles leave out is that probate can cause heartache for your loved ones for two reasons. First, probate is a public process for a private sorrow. The loss of a family member often leaves the surviving family feeling vulnerable. Due to its public nature, probate makes the heirs of the estate the target of solicitous chasers of grief – realtors and charities looking to make a quick-buck off of the loss of a loved one. Why does this happen? When the executor declares the assets, and debts, of the estate to the probate court, that information is “posted” for all the world to see. That is why executors of estates will often receive many phone calls and mailers from prospective investors or charities – which can be at the very least a hassle, and at the worst, a constant reminder of your pain.

The second reason why the probate process can cause heartaches for the surviving family is that it can tie up assets in court which are needed to pay the debts of the estate. Without ready access to the estate’s assets, the executor can be left with two options – pay the debt out of personal funds or delay paying the estate’s debts. Paying the debts out of personal funds may not be an option for the executor or remaining family. Neither is the other option of delaying favorable. It often results in the surviving family enduring the persistent letters and calls of the estate’s debtors while awaiting the estate’s assets to be freed from the probate.

So, yes, saving time and money are important reasons to avoid probate. But it is also important to avoid probate so that it avoids the surviving family from being targets of those that seek profit from your grief.

The problems with probate are many, and probate is avoidable in many instances through proactive proper planning. In fact, you can arrange your estate plan to transfer your house, your car, your bank accounts, and investments to your selected beneficiaries upon your death. Filing the necessary forms to transfer your eligible assets on death takes these assets out of the probate process and saves your loved ones time, money, and unnecessary heartache. Let us help you--contact us today.