Probate administration and why to avoid it

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The probate of your estate is not your responsibility because it cannot take place before your death, so it will be taken care of by your survivors. However, the way in which you manage your assets and the form in which you own them for now until the time of your death will determine whether or not your estate will require a probate administration and how complex the probate process is likely to be. This is why making a will discharges only one of your responsibilities to your survivors.

Another benefit is that at least the beneficiaries of yours will be identified and the balance of your probate estate will be distributed according to the terms of your will, or if you did not leave a will, according to the state intestacy laws. The procedure is supervised by a country court or district court, usually called a probate court.

Formal probate administration is always time consuming, usually expensive and often enormously frustrating. To begin proceedings, the probate judge must appoint an executor who will manage, liquidate and eventually settle your estate. the executable have to be compensated and, unless your will specifies otherwise, bonded, the costs of which, in addition to court costs, will have to be paid by your estate. The executor is required to notify your creditors and invite them to submit their claims, the cost of this notification are also charged to your estate.

In addition to the considerable cost in money and time, probate administration has other disadvantages. For one thing, because the probate process is a matter of public record, find out what you owned, what your debts were and who inherited how much of your assets. This information may encourage claims, illegitimate as well as legitimate, against your estate, and it may expose your beneficiaries to annoying solicitation by charities and other “worthy causes”, or by schemers of various kinds. Moreover, your personal representative, no matter how conscientious he or she may be, may not be able to handle your assets wisely without the benefit of your guidance, especially if your probate estate includes a flourishing business or securities with which he or she is unfamiliar. All these considerations make the avoidance of probate highly desirable.

#estateplanning #willandtestament #WillsandProbate