Probate is the court process of validating the contents of a deceased individual’s will. It is costly and time consuming but can be avoided by simply planning ahead.
Here at the Donald Law Office we offer a few different ways to help clients to avoid probate in the future. Every estate plan is different and unique just as our clients. The most popular way to avoid probate is by creating a trust. A trust allows the grantor to pick and choose who gets what assets and the timing of the disbursements.
Another major concern for most clients is what will happen to my property once I pass? There are many different scenarios that could happen but some of the things we offer include transfer death affidavits, quit claim deeds, or rights of survivorship.
Below are some of the terms and their definitions to obtain a better understanding of certain processes:
1.) Trust- A trust involves a third party or trustee to hold assets for beneficiaries to receive after the grantor or creator of the trust has passed away( Lapin, 2009)
2.) Joint ownership or rights of survivorship- this simply means if two people own property and one of them passes away ownership will automatically be passed to the survivor ( Gilbride, 2014).
3.) Transfer on death affidavit- a named beneficiary will automatically inherit the property after the death of the grantor ( Gilbride, 2014).
References
Gilbride, James. (2014). Joint Tenancy with the right of survivorship and transfer on death affidavits. http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/joint-tenancy-with-the-right-of-survivorship-and-transfer-on-death-affidavits
Lapin, Candice. (August, 2009). The top three ways to avoid probate. https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/the-top-three-ways-to-avoid-probate