Dealing with a loved one’s death is hard. When a decedent leaves behind assets, it can be difficult to divide and distribute them. Courts in Ridgeland supervise the division and distribution of assets and liabilities of a deceased’s estate through probate administration. However, this legal process can be time-consuming and consume a lot of resources. Thankfully, some assets can avoid the probate process. This is possible through proper estate planning, which guarantees specific assets don’t become part of the deceased person’s estate. If you want to avoid probate administration litigation, you should seek help from a reliable Ridgeland probate estate administration lawyer. The following are estate assets that are not subject to probate:
A Living Trust
Trusts place some assets in the control of an entity or individual for other people’s benefit. Trustees have fiduciary duties to manage and keep the assets for the beneficiaries of the trust. Assets such as financial accounts, real estate, motor vehicles, and securities that are held in a trust avoid probate. Since the trust estate under a living trust goes directly to the beneficiaries after the death of the estate owner, it is not subject to probate. Rather, a designated successor trustee will distribute the trust estate based on the terms of the trust.
Jointly Owned Property
Any property that is jointly owned and has the right of survivorship does not go through probate since it doesn’t revert back to the estate of the deceased upon death. This property is given to the surviving joint owner after the other owner dies. Jointly owned property, in this case, includes property jointly acquired by married couples and those acquired between two individuals without marital ties.
Assets Transferable-on-Death
People who have financial securities such as bonds and stocks can register them as transferrable on death. The owner will choose a beneficiary who will receive these assets upon their death. These assets do not go through probate.
Accountants Payable-on-Death
Come checkable and savings deposits are meant to be payable on death. The owner of the bank account takes full control of these accounts while they are still alive. However, these accounts are transferred to the designated beneficiary when the owner dies. Probate does not apply to these accounts.
Probate administration and litigation can be a drawn-out process. This makes it important to have a well-crafted estate plan. Experienced attorneys can make an effective plan for estate owners who want certain assets to avoid probate administration.
