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Estate planning can be intimidating. Most people don’t like to think about their own death or how their family will go on without them. But while it may not be something you want to deal with, working with an estate planning attorney to create an estate plan can help make things easier for your family when you do pass away.
Without the right plan, your family will be forced to go to probate court. And if you happen to own properties in different states, they may have to go through the probate process for each one. This could cause a lot of stress for them. If you want to spare your family the stress and trouble or probate court, you need to work with an experienced Orange county estate planning attorney who can help you make the right estate plan.
Why Is Estate Planning Important?
Many people aren’t aware of the importance of estate planning and fail to do it before they pass away. Estate planning doesn’t only give you the benefit of peace of mind, it can also help make things easier for your family when you pass away.
When you pass away, someone in your family will have to act as the executor of your estate and carry it out in probate. This can be a long and drawn-out process. If you own property in different states, each one will need to pass through probate in that state and can make things extremely hard for your family. With the help of an Orange County estate planning attorney, you can get your estate in order before you pass away so your loved ones won’t have to deal with the stress and confusion of probate court.
What Is Probate Court?
Probate is the branch of the court system that deals with probate and the administration of estates. The probate court gathers a deceased person’s assets and then distributes them to creditors and inheritors. If a person doesn’t have a will or an estate plan that makes it clear who is to inherit what from their estate, it will all be processed through probate court.
And depending on the size of the estate and the complexity of each case, the probate process can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of years! The best way to avoid probate court is to work with an Orange County estate planning lawyer who can help you plan your estate and create a revocable trust that can help make your estate easier to disperse.
Avoid Probate Court With A Revocable Living Trust
If you have several properties in your estate and know that your family will have to spend a lot of time in probate because of these many properties, you should be looking for a way to help them avoid probate.
If every property you own is probated in a different state, your family may be spending a lot of time and money traveling. Nobody wants to deal with that, and it’s not fair to leave them with this burden. It’s possible to help them avoid probate: a revocable living trust is one way to do that. This type of trust can be drawn up by an estate planning attorney.
Families who are trying to deal with properties in probate in other states will have to deal with ancillary probate. A revocable living trust makes it much easier to determine who inherits the properties and helps the estate get dealt with promptly.
What Is A Revocable Living Trust?
A revocable living trust is sometimes just called a living trust. It can be a solution for estates where the properties are in different states because it removes the property from the owner’s name and transfers it to the name of the trust.
Since probate only works on titles that are in a person’s name, there is no need for the titles that are in the name of the trust to be probated – regardless of what state they are in. There are many reasons people choose to include a revocable living trust in their state plan, and owning properties in more than one state is one of those reasons. It is not for everyone and if you are confused about whether or not you need to add a living trust to your estate plan, you can discuss it with your estate planning attorney.
How Can A Revocable Living Trust Help?
A revocable living trust can come in handy for a lot of reasons.
It helps your family members avoid time and money in probate court, trying to determine where your properties are located and who they should go to, and it allows them to avoid more than one probate if your properties are in different states.
Many people also prefer to get a revocable living trust because it allows them to keep their privacy. The court has no reason to interfere and the properties can be divided by the attorney and the executor named in the will or trust. The biggest benefit of having a living trust is that it simplifies things for your family. There is no confusion about what you own or who inherits it. A revocable living trust can be drawn up by an estate planning attorney.
If you own properties in more than one state and are working on estate planning with an attorney, be sure to consider adding a revocable living trust to that estate plan. This is the easiest way to help your family avoid probate court and to ensure that your properties go to the person you want to inherit that. Probate court is something most people dread, and your family will appreciate that you took the time to consider them and help them avoid it. You worked hard for everything in your estate, you deserve to have a say over who receives it. An experienced estate planning attorney can help. If you are ready to make an estate plan or want to know more about how a revocable living trust, call Wealth Advisors MF for help.