Probate refers to the process of settling a deceased individual’s estate. During this process, their assets are distributed to satisfy any past-due debts before they can be dispersed to the deceased’s beneficiaries. Because these proceedings can be both stressful and costly, many people seek ways to avoid it during estate planning. The following tips offer effective solutions to skip probate.

3 Steps to Keep Your Estate From Going Through Probate

1. Create a Living Trust

One technique many estate planning attorneys recommend is to create a living trust. After you’ve drafted a viable trust agreement, you’ll need to fund it by placing the desired assets inside. These assets will then be controlled by a trustee of your choosing until you either pass away or become incapacitated. At this point, your trustee will distribute the property in the trust outside the probate process.

2. Designate Beneficiaries

Investing in a retirement account or life insurance policy is also an easy way to help your loved ones avoid the probate process. When you invest in these accounts, you can designate specific beneficiaries to receive the assets after you pass. By outlining these beneficiaries ahead of time in a legal document, the account becomes eligible to bypass probate, allowing your loved ones to receive the assets directly.

3. Use Joint Ownership of Property

Listing a piece of property in joint tenancy with the right of survivorship allows the surviving owner to automatically take over complete ownership after the partner passes away. By working with your estate planning lawyer, you can add a second owner to many kinds of property, including real estate, stocks, bank accounts, and vehicle titles.

If you need help keeping your estate out of probate, turn to Larry J. Keller Attorney at Law in Waterloo, IL. With more than 30 years of experience, Attorney Keller has the knowledge and insight needed to provide top-quality estate planning counsel. Call (618) 939-8999 to schedule a consultation, and visit the website to explore is practice areas.