Avoiding the Pain of Probate

Probate is a court proceeding used to settle the estate of someone who has no Will. However, a person that has a Will may also end up in probate court. That’s because a Will doesn’t transfer a person’s assets to his or her heirs automatically – it only states who should receive those assets. Probate is time consuming and expensive for a personal representative (or executor, as it’s named in many states). It can be an agonizing and long drawn out procedure. But it is avoidable – with the right estate planning tools, and specifically with the Revocable Living Trust. Couples often...