You’ve worked hard all of your life to provide for your family and loved ones. Now you can relax, knowing that they will be taken care of once you’re gone. Or will they? If you are assuming that your assets and personal effects will automatically go to your spouse, you may be in for a surprise. Even if you have a proper will made out, it will not protect your estate from intestacy, which means that no clear heir has been designated. At this point, your assets must undergo a process called probate. This is a standard legal procedure that will provide a clear title to your heirs and pay off all debts and other obligations of your estate. However, virtually all of the decisions made regarding how this procedure is accomplished will be determined either by state law, or else the decision of an impersonal judge, if there is any kind of disagreement among your prospective heirs as to how your assets should be distributed. There are a number of reasons why probate should be avoided, if at all possible:
- This process is completely open to the public. Anyone who wishes to find out everything about your estate once you’re gone will have complete freedom to do so. Thanks to modern technology, a complete listing of your assets will probably be available online for the world to see.
- As stated before, this process is totally beyond your control-and the control of your spouse or other prospective heirs. You may assume that all assets will simply go to your spouse, but this is usually not the case. Most states will automatically divide your assets equally between your spouse and your children, regardless of whether your children are ready to take ownership of their share.
- Probate also offers anyone wishing to contest your will an opportunity to do so. This, of course, can lead to expensive legal proceedings that drag on for months. The costs involved in this will also be borne by your heirs.
- There are many possible expenses that can be incurred in the probate process, including court costs, appraisal costs, executor’s fees, legal and accounting fees, and even surety bond fees in some cases. The typical cost of probate can often run between 3 to 7 percent of the value of the estate (and much more in some cases.)
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