By Dan Hughes
After someone passes away, the contents of his or her will are automatically transferred to the beneficiaries. Many times, the will must go through a legal process known as probate. This process includes proving in court that a deceased person's will is valid, identifying and inventorying the deceased person's property, having the property appraised, paying debts and taxes, and distributing the remaining property as the will. Generally, however, it is only beneficial to avoid probate if you are 50+ years old, in bad health, and own a significant amount of property.
Probate does not benefit the beneficiaries mainly because it costs them money and time. The whole process can tie up property for several months, possibly up to one year, and attorney and court fees can take up to 5% of an estate's value. The whole process is basically clerical and rarely calls for legal research, drafting, or a lawyer's adversarial skills. The probate attorney fills in a huge number of forms and keeps track of deadlines and other procedural technicalities. Some probate fees include executor fees, attorneys' fees, court costs, appraiser's fees, and other expenses. Due to all of these fees and the amount of time that this would all take, it would be better to try to avoid probate altogether. If you can't, however, try to reduce the amount of property subject to probate. By doing so, it will reduce probate fees and allow the beneficiaries to get their inheritance much faster.
http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/pg/1/objectId/77E7ADF9-ec13-4136-AD84B88AB7067892/catId/9F594B71-B41B-4513-923BF19B4D9ACDAA/309/227/ART/
http://law.freeadvice.com/estate_planning/probate/avoid_estate.htm
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