Probate – SXSW Legal

How to Avoid the Process of Probate

Settling of personal and financial affairs of a dead person is called probate, and can be managed by experienced lawyers to represent the party in court. People avoid this process because it takes up several months and even years to get over it, and the greater the time, the greater the cost. This will leave the heirs with lesser amount of money than initially allocated by the deceased.

You can opt for four different ways, other than probate, to settle the property between heirs or any other beneficiaries. These comprise of; Death Beneficiaries, Joint Property Ownership, Gifts, and Revocable Living Trusts.

Death Beneficiaries

You can appoint a death beneficiary through different financial assets and instruments. After your death, the owner of these properties will be the death beneficiary you selected and it will not remain the part of your estate; hence you will be able to avoid the process of probates completely. Following financial resources can be utilized which will permit you to carry this out:

Retirement Accounts
Transfer on Death Registrations
Payable on Death (POD) Accounts

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Probate and Non-Probate Properties

When making a will, an individual should know the difference between a probate property and a non-probate property. The property will be distributed among heirs and beneficiaries after their death; therefore it is important to know such differences. Assets which the court distributes among the heirs are called as probate assets; whereas the assets which go straight to the beneficiaries and don’t have to go through the process determined by the court are known as non-probate assets.

As the probate process is lengthy and includes steps like; hiring an executor administrator, assets collection, bills payment, tax filing, property distribution among heirs and filing of final account; people attempt to steer clear of it and focus on non-probate properties.

Probate Assets

If the decedent is the sole owner of the property, it is called as probate assets. Following are included in probate assets:

Personal property comprising of jewelry, car, furniture, and any other expensive item.
Bank account belonging completely to the decedent.
Partnership, limited liability company or corporation interests.
Life insurance policy or brokerage account in which the deceased or estate are listed as the beneficiary.
Real property owned by decedent or seized as a common tenant.

Non-Probate Assets

Non probate assets incorporate:

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All You Need to Know About Probate Procedure

Distribution of resources takes place after the death of the property owner among the selected beneficiary or their heirs, as the law states. For that purpose, the assets of the decedent go through the process managed by the court, named probate process. The process is necessary as it facilitates in; proving the legitimacy of the will, appointing executor to manage the estate, finding heirs, inventory of the property of decedent, and property distribution of the dead person according to their will, or state law; in case of no will.

Probate Process

In this process the debts of the deceased is settled and the legal ownership, if it is owned completely by the departed person, is transferred to their beneficiaries and heirs. In case of will going through the process of probate, it is initiated when the executor of the will (nominee of the decedent) take the will for probate in the court of the same country the deceased lived or had property in.

Situation where the will is not present, the person needs to take court’s permission regarding appointing them as a proprietor of the estate. This individual is either the spouse or a mature child of the decedent, most of the time. When the court appoints them, they become the executor or manager of the estate, lawfully.

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