What is Probate and How Can You Avoid it?

When someone you love passes away, the last thing you want to think about is how to administer their estate if they did not do any Arizona estate planning prior to their death. After all, this is the kind of thing that can tear families apart and if the person in question didn’t plan ahead, then his or her estate may need to go through a complex and long process called probate. It can be stressful on already grieving families, particularly if you are unsure of what the person’s wishes were for their estate before they passed away.

Probate is a legal process that is characterized by several different components: proving the validity of the will in a court of law; taking inventory of the person’s estate if they left no Arizona estate planning evidence of their wishes; appraising major assets; paying off any taxes or debts associated with the estate; distributing what is left according to the will or state law if there was no will. Lawyers must also be paid to take the estate through probate, which is another expense on the estate; if no Arizona estate planning was done, then this may be another unanticipated expense and task in terms of finding a lawyer to take the estate through the probate process.

Most people, with engaging in Arizona estate planning, will do whatever they can to avoid the probate process. There are a number of ways to do so, though among the most popular is the formulation of an Arizona revocable trust account. This allows someone to move all of their assets into a special account out of which they can be properly distributed should the person pass away. This ensures that the estate need not go through the probate process and anyone receiving assets from the trust can do so fairly quickly when compared to a traditional will and probate.

With Arizona estate planning, the process of avoiding probate doesn’t need to be a difficult one. Careful consideration of how you want assets distributed and a living trust that ensures the process is simple leaves your relatives with the chance to grieve peacefully and without worry about how to get your estate through the challenging and often confusing probate process. This is perhaps one of the kindest things you can do for your loves ones during what is sure to be a challenging time for them.

Need Help?

If you are not sure as to what legal document you currently have contact one of our professionals to help you with your estate planning. They will make sure you have all of your grounds covered and have the right legal documents that best suite your wants and needs.