owned jointly, or has a beneficiary, then you will need to assist in the process of transferring the property to the beneficiary. You should strongly consider having an attorney help you with this. If the property needs to go through probate court (see above), your first step will be to...
Assets become public record during the probate process. Trustees must meet with the probate court yearly until the trust expires. Court fees can add up, depending on how long the trust lasts. A testamentary trust can be a great low-cost option to ensure the protection and proper distribution...
If you are expecting an inheritance from parents or other family members, suggest theyset up a trustto deal with their assets. A trust allows you to pass assets to beneficiaries after your death without having to go through probate. Trusts are similar to wills, but trusts generally avoid s...
Assets that pass through probate become part of the public record, so bypassing probate can be beneficial if you prefer to keep the details of the trust private. With a revocable trust, the grantor can change the beneficiaries and assets as long as they’re alive and physically and mentally ...
Most people want to avoid probate so that their beneficiaries can receive an inheritance more quickly without getting caught up in the morass of probate, which can potentially take a long time (more on that later). The law in almost every state permits estates to be settled without formal pro...
If you have a living trust, there is no probate process at all. So experts say everyone should have a will. But only those with property need a living trust. That way when you die, everything in the trust doesn't have to go through probate. More from CBS News Assemblyman Bill Ess...
This means the funds don’t have to go through probate or pay off any outstanding debts before reaching your beneficiaries. In short, your beneficiaries receive the payout regardless of how your estate is handled. Important: If no beneficiaries are named on the policy, or if all of the ...
It ensures long-term management. A testamentary trust is set up by a will, so it must go through probate, which causes delays and costs. The trust terms can be updated if the will is changed before death, making the trust very flexible. Once created, a testamentary trust is hard to ...
Using one of the two types of charitable remainder trusts can provide you with a tax deduction and noncharitable beneficiaries with an income stream. Afterward, the remaining assets are passed to a designated charitable beneficiary without needing to go throughprobate....
A will becomes active only after one's death. A trust, on the other hand, becomes active the day you create it. Trusts tend to be more expensive to create and maintain than wills. Importantly, unlike wills, trusts do not go through a probate process and are not usually a matter of pu...