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In this video I describe several probate avoidance tools that people use in estate planning. But before we jump into the weeds, let’s first go over what probate is and why someone would want to avoid it.

Probate is the court-involved and attorney-involved process of taking frozen assets that are titled in the name of a deceased individual and transferring ownership of those assets to their rightful heirs. For example, let’s say you pass away with three assets that are solely in your name: a home, a car, and a bank account. Well, the moment you pass away, those assets are frozen: no one can sell the house or put it in their name; no one can sell your car or put it in their name, and no one can access the funds in your bank account. Even if you have a last will and testament which clearly dictates who is entitled to inherit those assets, nothing can be done until a probate proceeding is initiated. Now, there are exceptions to that statement, particularly if some of the tools described in this video are utilized. But generally, if you have assets in your name when you die, your heirs must go through probate.

What people don’t like about probate is that it can be expensive, and it can take a long time. Lawyers like myself must be hired - I’ve been involved in more than a thousand probates. Lawyers must prepare various sets of court pleadings, inventories of assets, court orders that get submitted to a judge, and these lawyers and the probate participants must follow a very particular set of probate rules that each state says must be followed. And note that this can be a stressful time because the heirs are sharing a pool of money, and often these heirs do not know exactly what that pool of assets consists of, so they are at the mercy of lawyers, executors, other heirs, judges, courthouse employees, and financial institution employees, many of who either the heirs do not know or trust, or the heirs believe these people are incompetent.

So setting up an estate to avoid probate and allow assets to pass quickly and easily to heirs is big business. The following are several tools that estate planning attorneys, financial planners, and their clients use to enable their survivors to avoid the court and attorney involved probate process.

0:00 Avoid Probate Tools
0:12 What is Probate?
1:22 Why People Dislike Probate
2:40 Revocable Living Trust
4:04 Retirement Accounts
4:49 Life Insurance and Annuities
5:55 Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS)
7:06 Payable on Death (POD)
8:26 Transfer on Death (TOD)
9:30 Donate Assets Prior To Death
10:13 Use a Combination of Tools