How an Estate Planning Attorney in Cresson, TX, Can Help You Avoid Probate

Creating an effective estate plan is key to securing your assets and letting your wishes be respected after you pass away. Part of estate planning involves coming to an understanding regarding the process known as probate. This is a legal procedure that applies to the administration of a deceased person's estate. Generally, it is considered to be lengthy, expensive, and public. However, an experienced Estate planning lawyer in Cresson TX can support you in putting strategies in place to avoid probate and make sure the estate is transferred efficiently to your loved ones.

1. What is Probate, and Why Avoid It?

Probate is the process where an estate of a deceased person is proven valid by a court, debts are paid off, and assets are distributed to the designated beneficiaries. The process appears relatively simple, but probate is often completed within several months or even years after death. Additionally, there would be incurred legal fees, court expenses, and executor fees, all of which reduce the size of your estate.

Probate proceedings are also public, and this means the information about you, including assets and debts-becomes an open book. Many people find it wise to avoid this so as not to degrade their dignity and save their relatives the probate burden. There are several strategies that an estate planning attorney in Cresson, TX, can use to decrease the chances of your estate going into probate.

2. Ways to Avoid Probate

Several tools and techniques might assist an estate planning attorney in Cresson, TX, in ensuring that you don't have probate so your possessions may be divested speedily and privately:

A. Revocable Living Trusts

The best way to avoid probate is to create a revocable living trust. The legal instrument allows you to place ownership of your assets in the trust while you are living. After your passing, the assets in the trust are transferred directly to the actual beneficiaries without going through probate. Your estate planning lawyer in Cresson, TX can assist in a way that ensures your assets are appropriately titled and transferred to the trust.

B. Joint Ownership

Another non-probate way of transferring property is contingent upon whether it is jointly owned with the right of survivorship. When a property is jointly owned, the survivor automatically receives such upon the death of the other owner, thus avoiding probate. Alongside your Cresson, TX, estate planning attorney, determine which assets should be joined with how they should be owned.

C. Beneficiary Designations

Some accounts, such as life insurance policies, retirement funds, and bank accounts, may be made payable on death or owned in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship. These pass to the named individual upon your death without having to go through probate. Your estate planning attorney can review your existing accounts to determine if all beneficiary designations are current and reflect your wishes.

D. Gifts During Lifetime

There are other ways through which you can shrink the size of your estate, and hence reduce what shall have to go through probate. These include making gifts during your lifetime. Depending on your estate planning goals, your attorney for estate planning in Cresson, TX, will help ensure that you take advantage of all possible tax benefits while gifting assets.

3. The Involvement of Other Lawyers

Another function of an estate planning attorney in Cresson, TX, is to assist you in developing plans that achieve probate avoidance. Other attorneys may be involved in your planning as well. For example, if you are planning for the care of a minor child or an incapacitated adult, you would likely require a guardianship attorney in Cresson, TX, to ensure that the needs in your estate plan will be met for him or her. Additionally, if your estate has issues that may trigger some criminal complications or financial-related issues, getting a Criminal defense lawyer Cresson TX can ensure that all the legal problems will be solved before they affect your estate.

Conclusion

The estate planning lawyer in Cresson, TX, is important and helps avoid the complications that come along with a probate. An experienced attorney can help protect your estate by establishing a revocable living trust, correctly making beneficiary designations, and utilizing other strategies such as joint ownership and lifetime gifts. Protect your legacy and avoid the costs and lengthy court delays associated with probate. Call a qualified estate planning attorney in Cresson, TX, like The Law Office of Pamela A Walker today to get started on your comprehensive estate plan.