Probate Can Take a While
Even a simple, uncomplicated estate can take about six months to resolve through the probate process. If the estate is complicated or contested, probate can last for years. Many factors involved with probate are impossible to neatly fit within an estimated timeline. The estate’s personal representative must also attend court hearings—sometimes sitting in a courtroom all day—adding to the stressful and time-consuming nature of the probate process.
Estate planning is about creating stability and peace of mind for your family. Leaving anything up to chance isn’t ideal. However, the chaotic probate process can undermine your goals, forcing your heirs to wait for a long, uncertain period of time before receiving any financial support from your estate.
“I’ve seen probates last 10 years before, and again, that entire probate process is avoidable with proper planning.”
Probate Can Be Expensive
The costs of probate can be very high—even when everyone is getting along. Many states charge a fee of up to 3% of your estate’s value, so going through probate with a million-dollar estate could easily cost $30,000 on its own. Other states may have different fee structures, which can lead to further complications.
Probate hearings are held in the state where the decedent resided. If the family’s personal representative doesn’t live nearby, costly travel expenses can quickly add up as well.
Some of the many other fees and expenses associated with probate include:
- Paying a personal representative or executor
- Publication fees
- Legal fees
- Appraisal fees
Attorneys often make more from handling estates in probate than they do by avoiding it.
Probate Is All Public Record
If you value your privacy, you will want to avoid probate. Probate petitions are public records in any state, allowing anyone to view a copy of your will. In many states, even the accounting records involved in probate are public, allowing your neighbors to learn how much money you had or the value of your assets. Probate can bring unwanted attention to your heirs if you’re leaving them a significant amount of money.
Probate Can Lead to Scams
Public probate proceedings can also attract scammers to your family while they’re at their most vulnerable. Fraudsters are aware that individuals grieving the loss of a loved one are more vulnerable to exploitation. Probate can provide wrongdoers with the names, addresses, birthdays, and other personal information of grieving individuals. Beneficiaries will often receive hundreds of phone calls and emails from those attempting to steal their identity or access their bank accounts.
An 85-year-old widow is grieving the loss of her husband, who handled all of the couple’s finances for the entirety of their 60-year marriage. The day after filing a probate petition, she gets a phone call from someone claiming that her bank account is locked. The caller tells her she needs to provide her PIN and account number, or else she could permanently lose access to her funds.
In a panic, she gives out her bank information. Later, she discovers that her checking account has been emptied.
Probate Can Bring Out the Worst in People
If significant assets are at stake during probate, long-simmering family conflicts can boil over. Being notified of a will’s contents gives people the opportunity to come forward and contest the division of assets. If the decedent did not have a will, the resulting disputes over the estate can drag out probate proceedings for years.
Contested probate can result in exponentially higher professional and legal fees, draining more and more value from the estate as the conflict persists. While having a clear will can help preserve your family relationships and keep the process moving smoothly, avoiding probate altogether can completely remove the potential for disputes over your assets.
We Can Help You Avoid Probate
Often, attorneys without significant estate planning experience will advise their clients to draft a will, lacking the necessary knowledge and experience to set up a trust. However, having a will still requires the estate to go through the probate process.
The knowledgeable estate planning attorneys with Evans & Davis understand how to help you avoid probate entirely through a trust-based plan. Our trusted team has helped over 30,000 clients across the country reach their estate planning goals and protect what matters most to them.
We’re ready to help you champion your family’s legacy. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
The only sure surefire way to avoid probate is to have a trust in place – a simple will won’t be able to accomplish this.
