What is Probate? Simply put, probate is the legal process of settling a deceased individual’s estate. It is provided by the court in order to confirm the validity of the deceased person’s will and involves the distribution of his property according to the stipulations of his will. It is a service meant to protect the interest of surviving family members who have legal claims to the estate and also protects the executor of the will from the possibility of lawsuits questioning the will’s authenticity and validity. Why then, do most people want to avoid the process?
Probate normally lasts at least six months and sometimes, even over a year to complete. It could also involve a hefty amount in court and attorney’s fees. Probate in Valencia, California for instance, probate fees of 4-8% of the value of an individual’s property is assessed; and for people with a significant amount of property, 4% is not a negligible amount. In addition to these hassles, people tend to be wary of the fact that probate documents are accessible by the general public. Hence, they find ways to avoid probate in order to save time and money as well as to protect their privacy.
One of the most common ways to avoid probate is the execution of a living trust. This means transferring the ownership of your property to a trust that you can revise or revoke at any time. At the time of the trust grantor’s death, ownership of the property held in trust is transferred to the beneficiaries.
Setting up a living trust involves considerably less expense than probate does and the distribution of property among the beneficiaries only takes a few weeks as opposed to months of probate. Settling your estate in this manner could also help you avoid payment of certain estate taxes.
Mortensen Law
Tax, Trust & Estate Attorneys, P.C.
24300 Town Center Drive Suite 390
Valencia, CA 91355
(661) 799-8035
(661) 799-8838 fax
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