It is natural for parents or guardians to want to pass on something to their heirs or other loved ones. Parents work hard and save to make life easier for their children. The last thing they want is to give a huge portion of their estate to the government through probate fees. Neither do they want their loved ones to wait for months or years to receive that money. The appropriate time to think about the probate process is during the overall estate planning.
Here are 4 four ways in which the probate fees can be avoided.
Write a Living Trust
The simplest way is to create a living trust to avoid probate. A living trust is just a substitute for the last will that allocates the assets after death. The property and assets are placed in the living trust, which a trustee later administers for the beneficiary’s benefit. The probate is eliminated through this process as the assets are already distributed to the trust.
State Beneficiaries On Bank Accounts and Retirement
Some people find writing a last will more suitable than a trust. They consider it a more straightforward way of estate planning records. However, writing a will does not mean all the assets have to go through probate. Many people are not aware that the most valued assets enable them to name beneficiaries. For this, you will have to request and fill out the payable on death forms that can be provided by the bank or brokerage company.
Joint Ownership for Property
Another way to avoid probate is to consider holding joint ownership of the property. Joint ownership allows the estate to pass automatically to the significant other without going through the process of probate. You do not necessarily have to be married; it will naturally go to the surviving partner if the real estate is designated jointly.
Gifts
Giving away assets or property during the lifetime also helps in avoiding probate. The main reason of which is that if it is not owned by the person when they die, it does not need to undergo probate. The probate costs are lowered because, generally, the higher the property’s financial value that undergoes probate, the higher the expense. And federal gift tax does not apply to most gifts.
If you are seeking an estate law attorney Queens, you can reach out to Ledwidge & Associates, P.C. We work through all of these issues to help you develop a long-term estate plan. Contact us to talk to our professional estate planner Queens to answer your queries.
Ledwidge & Associates
Latest posts by Ledwidge & Associates (see all)
- Understanding Matrimonial Agreements: Prenuptial vs. Postnuptial - December 5, 2023
