5 Things You and Your Attorney Can Do Now to Speed Up Probate Later

It’s safe to say that most people want the best for their family after they’ve passed on. From financial stability to legal hurdles, all of these issues can be taken care of right now if the proper requirements are met. One of those legal hurdles includes the probate process. This is where the state will determine who exactly gets the assets you held in life. The process has been known to be notoriously long in duration and expensive. The following includes five things you and your attorney can do now to speed up the process.

1. Ask Your Probate Attorney About Beneficiary Designations

One of the most common misconceptions about probate is that it only deals with the division of real estate property. However, other assets such as 401K plans and IRAs are also included. An attorney may be able to help you figure out how to add beneficiaries to the various assets mentioned above. This will reduce the amount of confusion if the assets go into probate.

2. Creating a Revocable Living Trust

A great way to remove confusion and reduce the probability of legal challenges, a revocable living trust is recommended. This will allow you to name the specific people you want to have your assets, thus reducing or eliminating altogether the probate process.

3. Give Away Assets Before Death

If there are a large number of assets present at the time of your death, it may lead to a longer probate process. A good way to reduce the number of assets being disputed you may simply give away your assets to family members before you pass away. This will allow the asset to be removed from the probate process.

4. Joint Ownership

As stated above, you may give away property before your death and thus reduce the number of items in probate. However, nobody knows exactly when they will pass away. A great way to going around this issue is to have joint ownership with your spouse. This will allow them to gain control at the time of your passing and thus are able to begin working with a probate attorney in Las Vegas to reduce the number of assets on hand.

5. Creating a POD Account

A POD account or pay-on-death allows your bank account to be transferred to a beneficiary at the time of your death. This means you are choosing the person who is going to be in charge of your financial assets in the event of a legal challenge by the rest of the family.