Avoiding Probate at All Costs
Planning for the protection of your friends and family in the event of your death is one of the most personal and important tasks you will take on during your life.
Hiding your head in the sand and avoiding the subject will only lead to a worse situation for your family while they are dealing with their loss.
The lack of a comprehensive estate plan could cause a tremendous amount of stress and financial hardship for those you love most.
It is irresponsible to go through life without an estate plan in place, especially since one can be created for you at a low cost and with very minimal effort and time.
Ideally, an estate plan should allow you to control your property while you are alive and healthy but allow you to plan for your loved ones in the case that you become disabled or die.
Should you die, your estate plan should carry out your wishes and give what you want, to whom you want, when you want, and in the manner of your choosing.
You can control your assets long after you are gone.
Some people will tell you that probate is not as bad as it sounds.
Those people are probably probate attorneys.
The fact is, if you have over $75,000 of total assets, you should avoid probate at all costs.
Probate is the Court-supervised process of gathering up the assets of a deceased person (called the "decedent"), paying the decedent's final bills, and then distributing the decedent's remaining assets in accordance with the decedent's will, if any, otherwise in accordance with Florida Law.
Probate is necessary when the decedent has left assets titled in his or her sole name.
These assets may include houses, cars, bank accounts, and even life insurance policies or retirement funds.
Many people believe that having a will avoids probate.
Probate will be required whether or not the decedent has left a will since the laws of the State of Florida provide a "will" for those who chose not to make one through the intestacy statutes.
The intestacy statutes provide that a person who dies without a will shall have their assets distributed as the state of Florida has previously determined.
For a person who dies with only a spouse, all of the person's assets will be distributed to the spouse after they have been probated.
For a person who dies leaving behind a Spouse and children, the first $60,000 goes to the spouse and the rest of the assets are split equally between the spouse and the children.
Most people would not want to give half of their assets to their minor children without some sort of protection, but that is how the intestacy statutes are written.
Having a will avoids intestacy but it does not avoid the perils of the probate process.
Only a trust-based estate plan will avoid probate.
Probate has a number of drawbacks.
First and foremost, it is quite costly.
The probate of an estate will usually cost between 4 and 7 percent of the value of the entire estate.
The lawyers, Court, and creditors will all be paid before your family or beneficiaries see even one cent.
Another drawback to probate is that it is very time consuming.
The probate of a simple estate can take between 6 and 18 months.
Some estates take over 3 years to complete the probate.
During this time, your family has no access to the assets in your estate and no ability to sell or manage assets even as they depreciate in value.
A third drawback is the embarrassment of your dirty laundry being made public knowledge.
While trusts are completely private and sheltered from everyone's view except for the trustee that you appoint, probate is public record and your will shall be filed with the clerk of courts where anyone with a computer can download it and read it.
Even more embarrassing, any fighting over the execution of your will is also public record.
That's the reason that the world is currently aware that the head of Hall of Fame baseball player Ted Williams is currently on ice.
He did not have a trust.
Another very important drawback of the probate process is that your beneficiaries are not afforded any protection once they inherit your assets.
With a trust-based estate plan, you will be able to protect your beneficiaries from anyone attempting to take the assets from them through manipulation, litigation, or divorce.
Without a trust, your assets could be taken from your family and enjoyed by a person that you have never even met.
Hiding your head in the sand and avoiding the subject will only lead to a worse situation for your family while they are dealing with their loss.
The lack of a comprehensive estate plan could cause a tremendous amount of stress and financial hardship for those you love most.
It is irresponsible to go through life without an estate plan in place, especially since one can be created for you at a low cost and with very minimal effort and time.
Ideally, an estate plan should allow you to control your property while you are alive and healthy but allow you to plan for your loved ones in the case that you become disabled or die.
Should you die, your estate plan should carry out your wishes and give what you want, to whom you want, when you want, and in the manner of your choosing.
You can control your assets long after you are gone.
Some people will tell you that probate is not as bad as it sounds.
Those people are probably probate attorneys.
The fact is, if you have over $75,000 of total assets, you should avoid probate at all costs.
Probate is the Court-supervised process of gathering up the assets of a deceased person (called the "decedent"), paying the decedent's final bills, and then distributing the decedent's remaining assets in accordance with the decedent's will, if any, otherwise in accordance with Florida Law.
Probate is necessary when the decedent has left assets titled in his or her sole name.
These assets may include houses, cars, bank accounts, and even life insurance policies or retirement funds.
Many people believe that having a will avoids probate.
Probate will be required whether or not the decedent has left a will since the laws of the State of Florida provide a "will" for those who chose not to make one through the intestacy statutes.
The intestacy statutes provide that a person who dies without a will shall have their assets distributed as the state of Florida has previously determined.
For a person who dies with only a spouse, all of the person's assets will be distributed to the spouse after they have been probated.
For a person who dies leaving behind a Spouse and children, the first $60,000 goes to the spouse and the rest of the assets are split equally between the spouse and the children.
Most people would not want to give half of their assets to their minor children without some sort of protection, but that is how the intestacy statutes are written.
Having a will avoids intestacy but it does not avoid the perils of the probate process.
Only a trust-based estate plan will avoid probate.
Probate has a number of drawbacks.
First and foremost, it is quite costly.
The probate of an estate will usually cost between 4 and 7 percent of the value of the entire estate.
The lawyers, Court, and creditors will all be paid before your family or beneficiaries see even one cent.
Another drawback to probate is that it is very time consuming.
The probate of a simple estate can take between 6 and 18 months.
Some estates take over 3 years to complete the probate.
During this time, your family has no access to the assets in your estate and no ability to sell or manage assets even as they depreciate in value.
A third drawback is the embarrassment of your dirty laundry being made public knowledge.
While trusts are completely private and sheltered from everyone's view except for the trustee that you appoint, probate is public record and your will shall be filed with the clerk of courts where anyone with a computer can download it and read it.
Even more embarrassing, any fighting over the execution of your will is also public record.
That's the reason that the world is currently aware that the head of Hall of Fame baseball player Ted Williams is currently on ice.
He did not have a trust.
Another very important drawback of the probate process is that your beneficiaries are not afforded any protection once they inherit your assets.
With a trust-based estate plan, you will be able to protect your beneficiaries from anyone attempting to take the assets from them through manipulation, litigation, or divorce.
Without a trust, your assets could be taken from your family and enjoyed by a person that you have never even met.
