Strategies for Avoiding Probate at Death

My associates and I were recently working through a complex multimillion dollar estate planning case where the client owned real estate in multiple states. One of the central topics of discussion was how the probate process would work under the current will which we were in the process of revising. Probate is the court supervised process of transferring one’s property at death to his or her rightful heirs. The costs of probating an estate varies according to state law and based on case complexity but can easily be three to seven percent or more of the probate estate. Not all assets go through probate and, with proper planning, probate can be avoided altogether. That’s exactly what we are doing with this client. Since the family has real estate in more than one state, their current will would have required probate in each state that they owned real estate adding to the costs and complexity of settling their estate. In addition to fees, the probate process results in making public some of what was private information. That’s because the filing documents are part of the public record which may include listing of assets and beneficiaries. Finally, the probate process typically takes a minimum of six months and can take several years.

Here are three ways that you can avoid probate:

Create a Revocable Living Trust. With a revocable living trust, you establish a trust and move all of your probate assets into the trust. You can act as your own trustee but designate a successor trustee should you become incompetent or die. This sounds more complicated than it is, for once it’s set up it’s easy to maintain.
Own property as Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship. A good example would be to own your home with your spouse under this form of title. At death, your interest in your home automatically passes to your spouse by title rather than going through probate. Some states use a slightly different version known as Tenancy by the Entirety and community property states such as California use Community Property with Right of Survivorship.
Name beneficiaries to your retirement accounts, bank accounts and life insurance. I’ve run into lots of cases where someone named their estate as the beneficiary of their life insurance. This not only subjects the assets to potential probate fees but also potential creditors. For bank accounts and brokerage accounts, you can use a ‘Payable on Death’ designation to direct who gets your account assets at death.

Take a moment to review your own estate situation. If you own property in more than one state or you put a high value on privacy of your financial affairs, consider the revocable living trust. If your estate is simple and will not be subject to estate taxes, the strategies above may simplify the transfer process and greatly reduce the time required to get your assets to your heirs at your death. Care must be taken in executing a plan for avoiding probate for there are many potential pitfalls and tax traps so your best strategy is to seek the advice of a professional experienced in estate planning.