If you can, imagine your family having to deal with the loss of someone they love while also having to handle a funeral, sudden expenses and court dates. It is heartbreaking to think about people in mourning having to worry about deadlines and court costs, finding an attorney and working through your estate without knowing what you wanted.
This is why it’s so important to set up your will and at least one trust, so that you have a plan in place when you pass away. Doing this can help your family bypass probate, so that they don’t spend their time and money in court.
Avoiding probate is better for everyone
Avoiding probate is better for everyone involved when you pass away. Probate is often a long, drawn-out process. It’s costly and time consuming, so those who are trying to take care of your estate end up dealing with hours of meetings and court dates.
It’s much simpler to avoid probate and to save your family the stress that probate can cause. With a basic will, you can will all of you assets to your beneficiaries and help them skip a long probate process. If you opt for another option, like a trust, then you may have even more control over where your assets go, how they’re spent or distributed and even if creditors have access to them upon your death.
Since probate is costly, remember that your family will need to have immediate access to cash to pay for it. If they don’t, it could mean that they’ll need to pay property insurance, taxes and other fees until they can come up with the money needed to go through probate.
No one wants to see this happen to your family. As you start the process of estate planning, remember that there are steps you can take to protect those you love and to help them get the assets you want to leave to them without having to go through a long, tedious court process. Your attorney will talk to you about your will, trust options and other things you can do to make your passing easier on your family.