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<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nThe death of a loved one will always be painful and challenging to deal with. Having to deal with court visits and fees on top of<\/i> the emotional fallout of a death sounds to many people like a special circle of hell.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, dealing with probate court after the death of a loved one is the norm for most people. What is probate court, exactly?<\/strong> It’s the legal process through which a person\u2019s will is carried out. The court is in charge of identifying and ensuring that all creditors are paid what they\u2019re owed and all property goes to the proper benefactors.<\/p>\n On its face, those all sound like good things, but in practice, probate court is an extremely unpopular option.<\/p>\n The short answer is that it\u2019s expensive<\/em> and slow<\/em>.<\/p>\n Even if you lay out in your will exactly what should go to whom, your family can end up losing about 5%<\/strong> of the total amount of property you leave behind simply in court and lawyer\u2019s fees. And<\/em> they can expect to wait around a year to see any of what\u2019s left over.<\/p>\n If you want to ensure your loved ones avoid that fate after your death, you have a few options that will get your property in the hands of benefactors while skipping the pain of probate court.<\/p>\n A living trust is like a will, with the notable difference that it doesn\u2019t have to go through probate court to be applied upon a person\u2019s death. Instead, whatever trustee you name will be in charge of transferring the property to those you specify.<\/p>\n Many banks will allow you to name beneficiaries for your accounts so that, upon your death, the bank will transfer the account funds directly to the person named.<\/p>\n This is like a payable-on-death account for stocks and bonds. In most states, you can register a specific beneficiary to take over any stock, bond, and brokerage accounts you have after your death. Unfortuantely, if you live in Texas or Louisiana, this isn\u2019t an option for you at this time.<\/p>\n Any property jointly owned will go automatically to the other owner or owners without having to go through probate court.<\/p>\n You can always give away some or a lot of your property while you\u2019re alive. If your loved ones are already the new owners of the property at the time of your death, it\u2019s theirs, period.<\/p>\nWhy Avoid Probate Court?<\/h2>\n
5 Ways to Avoid Probate Court<\/h2>\n
1. Living Trust<\/h3>\n
2. Payable-on-death Accounts<\/h3>\n
3. Transfer-on-death Registration<\/h3>\n
4. Joint Ownership<\/h3>\n
5. Gifts<\/h3>\n
Is Avoiding Probate Court Ever a Bad Idea?<\/h2>\n