Estate planning allows you to take action and secure the transition of your assets and personal items to those you designate within your documents. When setting out to determine how to create an effective and fair estate plan, you may want to consider other tools you can implement to distribute your property to loved ones outside of court.
Probate is a process that can drag on depending on the size of your estate and the debts you owe. Getting money to those you love can prove challenging, but doable. Learn about some of the ways you can pass assets on without waiting.
Joint ownership
When you co-own anything with another person, the survivor should receive and maintain control of the contents when you die. You can jointly own things such as real estate, bank accounts and vehicles with another person. This is one way you can effectuate a seamless transfer of assets to someone.
Beneficiary designations
Your retirement account and insurance policies required you to list the person or persons who would benefit upon your death. You can divide these things by percentage share between any beneficiary you desire to list.
Trust accounts
A popular choice for passing property directly to others is a trust. This fiduciary account allows you to remove items from your estate and place them for holding upon terms you create. Those you designate as trustees will receive the contents of the account pursuant to the parameters you set.
There are a few ways you can ensure that your heirs inherit in a seamless and effective fashion outside of probate court.