Are you about to enter the probate process to transfer a loved one's assets after they pass away? If so, you'll likely need to go through the probate process if they did not have proper estate planning set up. Here is what you need to know about the overall process so that you can be well prepared.
Probate Is Public
Many people are not aware that the probate process is public. While the process may not be held in the open for others to observe, the legal documents created from probate will be public record. This means that others will be able to look up what your loved one owned at the time they passed away and who those assets were given to.
Probate May Be Bypassed For Certain Assets
If your loved one did not create a will, some people are surprised to learn that certain assets will bypass the probate process and go directly to the beneficiary. This will happen if there is joint ownership of anything where the other owner is alive and able to take control of the asset.
For example, there may be a home that is owned by two people, and one person passes away. The home would not need to go through the probate process, since the other joint owner would immediately take ownership. The same thing will happen with bank accounts that belong to two people and one person passes away. Any sort of policy where there is a beneficiary listed, such as life insurance policy or retirement account, will also be passed along to the beneficiary.
If a beneficiary is deceased and the beneficiary was never updated after the person passed away, that asset would then go into probate.
Probate Will Take Awhile
The probate process will take much longer than you anticipate, with it taking 6–12 months for a typical estate. A basic timeline includes starting the probate process, discovering all of the assets and debts, creating an inventory of what the estate is worth, and then distributing assets by starting with creditors that are owed money from the estate. If assets need to be sold to pay creditors, items will need to be appraised and sold first to pay off those debts. As you can imagine, the entire legal process will likely take more time than anticipated to get everything wrapped up.
Work with a probate attorney in your area to help you navigate the probate process.
Share6 August 2020
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