Four Reasons to Consider an Orange County Estate Plan to Avoid Probate. Unless a proper estate plan is created, the estates of most individuals will have to pass through the probate process. This means that after you pass away, your loved ones will have to deal with the hassle of conducting a formal estate administration under the oversight of the probate court. Probate may be desirable in some circumstances. For more estates, however, formal probate is unnecessary. Fortunately, a carefully created estate plan can avoid probate in Orange County.
Why consider meeting with an estate planning attorney in California to discuss probate avoidance techniques? The following is an overview of some of the key disadvantages of failing to create a plan designed to avoid probate in Orange County:
- The probate administration process can tie up the ability of the beneficiaries to access the assets of the estate for many weeks or months.
- Administering an estate through the probate process can be very expensive. The estate will have to pay the fees imposed by the probate court, in addition to the legal fees of an attorney to oversee the proceedings.
- The probate file for an estate is part of public record. This means that virtually anyone can review the details of who your beneficiaries are, the assets of your estate, and your debts.
- Formal probate proceedings involve the oversight of the probate court.
Once you have decided to create an estate plan that will avoid the need for the probate process, your next step will likely be to set up a living trust. Trusts are an excellent tool used by estate planning professionals to ensure that your assets pass to your loved ones smoothly and without court oversight. Our guide, Understanding the Revocable Living Trust – In Language that Anyone Can Understand in 8 Minutes, provides helpful information about this important estate planning tool.
Four Reasons to Consider an Orange County Estate Plan to Avoid Probate. For more information, contact an experienced Orange County estate planning lawyer today at (714) 282-7488.