603-924-3050
RUNYON LAW OFFICE, PLLC
  • Home
  • Our Attorneys
    • L. Phillips Runyon III
    • Jaran R. Blessing
    • Jacqueline M. Blessing
  • Areas of Practice
    • Estate Planning
    • Probate and Trust Administration
    • Elder Law
    • Business Formation, Representation, and Succession Planning
    • Real Estate Transactions
  • Staff
  • Food for Thought
    • Suggestions for Senior Dilemmas - 03/03/2020
    • SECURE in the Knowledge - 02/06/2020
    • Holiday Semi-Legal Offerings 12/19/2019
    • From One State to Another - 11/20/2019
    • What to Do with Those Documents - 06/05/2019
  • Food for Thought Archive
  • Your Thoughts
  • Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Our Town
  • Vital Signs Material
  • ABA pro bono letter

Probate Avoidance Revisited by Phil Runyon

9/17/2013

 


Probate Avoidance Revisited

I've mentioned before - harped may be more like it - about doing your best to keep your family from having to endure the delay (more than 6 months), expense ($$$) and extra work (forms, forms, forms) of putting your estate through the probate administration process.  Just to recap quickly, with a few exceptions any asset just in your own name when you die has to take that route to get to your beneficiaries,  So do your best not to let that happen.

How, you ask?  First, make a list of all your stuff: real estate, bank accounts, investments, retirement accounts, life insurance, vehicles, fridge magnets.  Then, check to see how everything's currently owned or payable upon your eventual departure.  If it's jointly-owned, say, with your spouse or a child, it's going to pass, without probate, to that co-owner as long as they last longer than you do.  Same, too, if it's got a named beneficiary.  And finally, if it's either payable to or titled in the name of a revocable trust, it will be skirting probate, and your family will be eternally grateful.

I'm going to assume you already know most of this.  The problem is that you actually need to do the follow through.  I can't tell you how often someone we've reminded about this subject over and over again still hasn't finished the project until after it's too late.  That is, there's just a little checking account used to buy groceries or pay the light bills that's still in one lone name, or the life insurance is still payable to a spouse who's already passed on, or the house was jointly-owned with that spouse and now it's just in the survivor's name.  Probate, probate, and more probate is all I can say.

Most planners these days recommend revocable trusts to their clients as the best anti-probate alternative,  I've given that lecture myself before, so I won't repeat myself.  What I will do, though, is make available my how-to memo about getting it all done.  If you'd like a copy, please contact us for one free of charge.

Posted 09/17/2013

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    April 2019
    February 2019
    July 2018
    March 2018
    October 2017
    July 2017
    October 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Asset Protection
    Estate Planning
    Miscellany
    Probate
    Real Estate
    Tax Planning

Copyright ©  2012-2022 Runyon Law Office, PLLC