How to Avoid Probate in New York (and Why You Should)
Despite what you see in the movies, inheriting money does not feel like winning the lottery, at least not the kind of winning the lottery where you just hand your scratch off ticket to the gas station cashier and walk away with the money. The hurdles you must clear to get your inherited money are more work than filing your tax returns. Even if the money you inherit is more than you would get in a tax refund from your own tax return, administering the estate of a deceased person takes at least a few months, and until the estate settles, you are not sure how much money you will get or when you will get it. If you are the personal representative of the estate, everyone blames you for delays in the settlement of the estate and for the processes that diminish the value of the estate by the time it settles. You can save a lot of money and stress for your heirs if you keep as many of your assets as possible out of probate. For help keeping your property out of probate, contact a Bronx estate planning lawyer.
Who’s Afraid of Probate?
Probate is the legal process by which a deceased person’s estate ties up the loose ends of the decedent’s financial matters, and then the estate settles, and the heirs receive their inheritance. The personal representative of the estate must be thorough about meeting all the requirements before the estate settles. These are some aspects of the probate process:
- Presenting the decedent’s will to the court or asking the probate court to open the probate case even though the decedent did not have a will
- Notifying the heirs that the estate is open for probate, so they can claim their inheritance or, if they wish, challenge the will
- Filing the decedent’s final tax return
- Notifying creditors about the probate case so that they can seek repayment from the estate
- Posting public notices in the local newspaper, today usually including its online edition, announcing that the estate is open, so that heirs and creditors whose contact information the personal representative does not have may file their claims
- Settling the decedent’s debts, if applicable
- Selling property pursuant to the will or to satisfy creditor claims
If you think that this process sounds expensive and labor intensive, you’re right. The greater the value of the estate, the harder probate is.
Non-Probate Assets Can Make It Simpler and Less Expensive for Your Heirs to Inherit
You can avoid probate if the value of the estate is less than $50,000. You can do this by transferring your property to non-probate assets like trusts and payable on death accounts. These do not become part of your estate and pass directly to your heirs.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney
An estate planning lawyer can help you simplify your estate plan with non-probate assets. Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.
Source:
codes.findlaw.com/ny/estates-powers-and-trusts-law/ept-sect-5-1-1-a.html