Probate

Many people believe that probate should be avoided at all costs. However, this is not true. In fact, some may spend more time and money trying to avoid probate than they would if they had simply followed the normal course of the probate administration process. Reasons why you may not want to avoid probate include: Liability: Creditors have only a certain…Read More

People treat the probate process as if it is as inevitable as, well, death and taxes. People with substantial assets fear probate because it is a public process, and it exposes the estate to taxation. The objective is to keep as much as possible “in the family,” and not turn it over to Uncle Sam. Actually, there are a handful…Read More

We have been posting a number of blogs regarding probate issues over the past few weeks. Today, we’ll discuss life insurance proceeds. Why the general rule doesn’t always apply The rule is that life insurance proceeds skip probate so long as you have named beneficiaries who can take the payout. Upon your death, your beneficiaries receive their share directly from…Read More

In the last episode of our “How to Avoid Probate” series, we discussed how co-ownership is an effective way around the probate process. Now let’s drill down a bit, to understand the two common forms of co-ownership. They sound similar, but they are different categories, with different outcomes: Joint tenancy: There can be any number of co-owners in a joint tenancy.…Read More

If you are a surviving spouse, family member, heir, beneficiary or an executor of an estate, you may have many important issues to attend to in the aftermath of a loved one’s death. While a decedent’s debts are usually erased upon death, a blog posted last month discussed situations in which debts may remain. While working your way through the probate…Read More