Probate Avoidance Tag

Why Keep Your Estate from Going Through Probate Court

Probate court is a provision set up by each state to assist with succession when a person dies without a will or if they have a last will and testament only. It can really help a person’s family if there was no estate planning in place. However, this can take time and cut into the ultimate amount received due to court fees.

On the other hand, with a little planning, you can bypass probate and get the majority of your assets to your loved ones without the wait and expense. Here are three reasons to take advantage of trusts and other estate provisions that go straight to your beneficiaries.

• They get the money faster – Even if the trustee has instructions on how and when to distribute the money, the only delays would be due to your instructions and not for time spent in court.
• They get more of the money – While you may pay your successor trustee to handle the funds, there is no way to know how much would be used up in court, especially if your loved ones need to hire a lawyer to get your estate.
• No one knows who gets what – Probate court is public record, so everyone knows how much your assets were worth and who they went to. Proper state planning keeps your inheritance private to protect your beneficiaries.

San Diego’s Estate Planning Lawyers

Contact Petrov Law Firm today to get in touch with the area’s top estate planning attorneys. Just call 619.344.0306 to learn more about what we can do for you.

Smart Bank Accounts for Avoiding Probate

Probate court can drain valuable resources from your estate and cause your loved ones to have to wait to receive their inheritance. How can you fast track some of the funds that your family will need when you pass away? The type of bank accounts that you use can help. Here are two to consider:

1. Joint accounts – This is the best option for couples. You can share the bank account. If something happens to one of you, the other will retain access to the account. The only downside to joint accounts is that anyone else on the account has access to the funds at any time, even while you are still alive, which is why this is not a common account for other relationships besides marriage mates.
2. Payable on death (POD) accounts – This option is better when you want someone to inherit the money immediately if something happens to you, but you don’t want them accessing your funds while you are still alive. You name a beneficiary who receives the remaining account funds when you pass away. Just remember that you have to change the beneficiary name immediately if you want someone else to get the money. There will be no way for anyone to contest the beneficiary after you die.

Southern California’s Estate Planning Experts

Petrov Law Firm can help you to have things in order well in advance of any emergency situations or end of life decisions. This can give you and your family peace of mind. Call 619.344.0360 to discuss your options with an experienced estate planning attorney.

A Few Estate Planning Tips for Couples

The novel coronavirus has a lot of people thinking about the future of their family and estate. The good news is that couples have a lot of great estate planning options available to them in California. Here are a few situations that call for specific types of trusts.

• You have a very large estate – An A/B trust can help to protect your estate when it is large enough to be impacted by the estate tax. Obviously, this is rare, but the option exists for those fortunate enough to be in this category.
• You want to leave everything to the one and only mate you have ever had – A survivor’s trust is perfect if you want to leave your spouse everything, and you have not been previously married to anyone else.
• You have a blended family or a smaller estate – A survivor’s trust with QTIP is good for remarried individuals and those who don’t have as much to leave to their family.

There are also additional options for people who fall into very specific categories, such as the marital disclaimer trust. Hiring an experienced estate planning attorney will help you to understand which estate planning documents are the best for you and your loved ones.

Southern California’s Estate Planning Attorneys

If you are planning for an estate in or near the San Diego area, contact Petrov Law Firm at 619.344.0360. We can help you to customize an estate plan to meet your family’s unique situation.

Leaving Your Estate to Beneficiaries Through Trusts

Trusts can help your estate to bypass probate court. This allows your beneficiaries to receive the full amount you leave to them without having to wait or pay court fees. What are a few types of trusts that you may not know about?

• QPRT – A qualified personal residence trust allows you to transfer ownership of a property that you own to a family member without them having to pay the current value. This protects your assets while you are still alive, and it offers tax benefits for you now.
• IDGT – An intentionally defective grantor trust is the way to pass a family business to a beneficiary. It also offers some protection against creditors for the family. So if you have a business and want to keep business and personal assets separate, this is an important trust to know.
• CRT – A charitable remainder trust is one to know if you want to leave some of your estate to charity. Additionally, your beneficiaries may receive tax benefits if you leave part of your estate to a charity in this way, so it benefits your family while doing a good deed for the community.

Gifting Through Trusts to Protect Your Assets

Petrov Law Firm wants to help you ensure that the maximum amount of your estate goes to your beneficiaries rather than being wasted on court fees, high taxes, and other things that can cut into an inheritance. Call 619.344.0360 to discuss options for working on your estate now.

Planning for Your Estate During the Coronavirus Pandemic

At the time of the writing of this article, California already has more than 4,000 cases of coronavirus. With nearly 25,000 deaths globally due to this pandemic, you can’t afford to leave the future of your family to chance. Here are two important steps to take regarding your estate plan (or lack thereof) in California.

• Get started today – If you don’t already have an estate plan in place, now is the time to jump into action. Don’t assume you are too young to be affected either. Parents especially need to take care to protect their mate or minor children by means of a competent estate plan.
• Review your existing plan – If you already have an estate plan, now is the time to review it to ensure that your current wishes are stated clearly. Now is not the time to accidentally have an ex as your retirement fund beneficiary or to have an estate plan that never changed when you moved from one state to another (each state has its own laws regarding estate planning). You always want to be certain that your medical wishes are up to date.

Planning Ahead Is Not Alarmist – It’s Smart

We hope that you and your family enjoy your time at home together during this pandemic without incident, but the course of wisdom is to be prepared. If you need to begin or update an estate plan in southern California, Petrov Law Firm can help. Call 619.344.0360 to get in touch with an estate planning attorney today.

Three Reasons to Keep Your Estate Out of Probate

If all you have is a last will and testament (or worse – nothing at all), then when you pass on, your estate will have to go through probate court. Of course, probate is there for a reason. It’s not all bad. However, there are some excellent reasons to try and pass as much as possible to your heirs without this provision. Here are a few reasons:

• It can affect how much your beneficiaries receive – Probate court isn’t free. The longer the money stays tied up, the more court costs will consume, leaving less for your loved ones.
• It is a matter of public record – Sadly, we have to worry about scams and thieves. That is the world we live in today. If it is on public record what you left to your family members, it could result in criminals targeting your heirs.
• It can result in delayed receipt of assets – Your beneficiaries may not even receive their inheritance for months or years after you pass away. This is especially true if there is no will or if the will was poorly written, and it ends up contested in court.

Estate Planning Attorneys in San Diego

You can keep much of your estate out of probate court by having your estate planning handled professionally. Call the experienced attorneys of Petrov Law Firm today at 619.344.0360 to learn more. Whether you need to start your estate plan from scratch or update an existing plan, we’re here to help residents of southern California.

The Ugly Side of Probate Court

Probate court definitely has its place, especially when a person passes away with no last will and testament or when there are conflicts among a person’s heirs. However, if you are planning to leave your estate to your loved ones, there are a few reasons to try and keep your assets out of probate court.

• It’s public record – Do you really want just anyone to be able to look up what your family received? It could potentially make them a target for scams, so it is better to keep these matters private.
• It can drain funds – You intend your savings to go to your family, but if probate court becomes drawn out, much of the inheritance could end up paying legal fees.
• It delays your beneficiaries from receiving their inheritance – Until the court works out what needs to go for taxes and other liabilities against the estate and who should receive the rest, the assets are effectively tied up and unusable. While probate court usually handles matters within a few months, there have been cases that drag on for a year or even several years while heirs have no access to the dwindling funds.

California Estate Planning Attorneys

If you want your loved ones to get as much of your estate as possible as quickly as possible after you pass on, the estate planning attorneys at Petrov Law Firm can help. Call 619.344.0360 today and schedule a consultation at one of our three convenient locations in southern California to learn more.

What You Need to Know About California Probate

Whether you have a last will and testament or no estate planning at all, California probate court is going to play a role in the dispensation of your assets after you pass away. Here are a few things that you should know about probate so that you can plan for your estate the best way possible.

• You only have an executor if you prepare a will. The court will have someone handle the dispensation if you do not have any estate planning in place.
• Probate court makes sure that any existing tax debts are paid before the remaining assets are distributed to your heirs. This may reduce how much your beneficiaries receive, but at least they don’t have to worry about the taxman showing up and demanding money.
• Probate is public record, so if you don’t want everyone to know what you left to your family, then you need to find a way to keep it from going through probate.
• Probate can get expensive and tie up your assets for months or even years before your beneficiaries get anything. The best way to avoid this is to find alternative ways to leave assets directly to your family or to be very clear in your will rather than using a template from the Internet.

Estate Planning Assistants from the Pros in Southern California

The estate planning attorneys at Petrov Law Firm can help you to keep your assets out of probate court, so they are not wasted or held up. Call us today at 619-344-0360 to learn more.

How to Use Bank Accounts to Avoid Probate Court

Probate court isn’t always a bad thing, but it can sometimes mean that your heirs will have to wait a while to get their inheritance. It can also be expensive since creditors may get their share and the courts will, of course, take a cut for fees. So how can you use your bank accounts to avoid probate? Here are a couple of ways.

• Payable on Death (POD) Accounts – If you make your bank account payable on death to a specific beneficiary, then you cut out the middleman and get your money directly to the heir. The only negative is that you will need to change the name of the beneficiary right away if you have a change of circumstances or just want someone else to get the money.
• Joint Savings or Checking Accounts – If someone else’s name is on your bank account with you, then they can continue to use the account as usual when you pass. The money is already theirs in the eyes of the bank anyway since the account is shared. This is an easy way to leave funds to someone who you trust not to take anything from you while you are alive.

California Estate Planning Attorneys

If you need help planning for your estate in the state of California, the experienced attorneys at Petrov Law Firm can help. To schedule a consultation, give our San Diego office a call today at 619-344-0360. We look forward to helping you plan ahead for the future of your family.

Major Downsides of Letting Your Estate Pass Through Probate

Probate court can be beneficial when a person dies without any estate planning in place. However, when you are planning for your estate, part of the goal is usually to keep your assets out of probate court. Here are a few of the reasons why.

• It can be a long process – You want your heirs to benefit from your estate as quickly as possible. However, probate court can tie up funds and other assets for months or even years in rare cases.
• It can get expensive – The longer things drag on, the more court costs will mount up. This can result in major court fees that can make a significant dent in your estate before your heirs even get to enjoy it.
• Everything is public record – When your estate goes through probate, it becomes public record. This may open your beneficiaries up to attacks from scammers or other criminals who now see how much you left to various family members or friends.

Protect Your Estate with Professional Estate Planning Services in California

At Petrov Law Firm in San Diego, we specialize in helping California residents to protect your estate and preserve it for future generations rather than for court fees. Our attorneys are experienced in helping clients to set up trusts and directly leave their estate to heirs in other legal ways. To schedule a consultation, call us today at 619-344-0360. We look forward to helping you plan successfully for the future of your household.