Have you ever thought about how your family will transfer your assets to a spouse, children, family members, or others upon your death? The term probate may come up. A loved one’s assets could include their home, cars, bank accounts, etc. In Georgia and in most states, to transfer assets out of a deceased person’s name you may have to go through what is called Probate Court (Probate).
Probate is a court supervised legal process that may be required after someone’s death. Probate gives the surviving spouse, family members or others legal authority to gather the deceased person’s assets, pay debts, taxes, and ultimately transfer assets to the people who will inherit them. Probate is necessary if assets belonged solely to the deceased person with no named beneficiary or with an estate as the named beneficiary. Probate is required with a Last Will and Testament, or if the deceased did not have a Last Will and Testament.
Probate can take from six months to a year, depending on if the Last Will and Testament is contested or if there is no Last Will and Testament. You might ask how Probate can be avoided? In Georgia and other states there are several things you can do to avoid having to go through Probate.
The following are ways Probate can be avoided:
- Creating a revocable living trust
- Beneficiary designations on accounts
- Life insurance proceeds or pension benefits payable to a named beneficiary
- Joint Tenancy with rights of survivorship
Avoiding Probate can save a family money because most people must hire an attorney to assist with the Probate process. Assets transfer a lot faster with beneficiary designations. Probate can be very stressful for families that are already grieving and can cause family conflict. Additionally, Probate can invade privacy as a Last Will and Testament becomes public.
All it takes is extra planning for you and your family to avoid the Probate process.
Tyler Comer