What is Probate and why is it important to avoid? Probate is a legal process that occurs after someone dies. It includes filing a deceased person’s Will in the correct county, identifying and appraising assets, filing reports and paperwork in accordance with Court deadlines, and lots and lots of red tape.
What goes through Probate? Anything that an individual owns that is in their sole name without any designated beneficiary, which could include: houses, cars, bank and retirement accounts, etc.
We have over 20 years of experience helping families navigate the Probate process. This, of course, comes at a cost, but that cost can be avoided through proper Estate Planning, namely establishing and properly funding a Revocable Living Trust.
While joint ownership of your assets does provide you with some protection, most of the time it is just not enough. We usually see one of six scenarios with spouses, and only one of the six actually avoids Probate:
- Losing their decades-long best friend leaves them apathetic, completely disinterested in making any of the plans they thought they would;
- “Death of a broken heart”, an all-too-true phenomenon where the surviving spouse is so devastated that they pass away within a few months (this happens a lot more often than you would think);
- The surviving spouse was not the “financial person” in the relationship and never really cared to understand the paperwork, finances, or the implications of leaving things subject to Probate;
- The surviving spouse now has dementia or diminished mental capacity and cannot create Estate Planning documents;
- Simultaneous death, such as in a car accident, and
- The surviving spouse actually creates/updates their Estate Planning documents.
The sad part is that these are people who truly want to have their affairs prepared for their loved ones, but left things to chance. The best thing you can do for your loved ones is to plan ahead.
If you would like help with your Estate Planning documents or to handle a Probate matter, schedule with us at 301-696-0567 (we have 24-hour representatives if you call after-hours), admin@lenaclarklegal.com, or self-schedule online at lenaclarklegal.com.