Probate can be a costly, time-consuming, and often frustrating legal process for families after the passing of a loved one. One of the most effective strategies is to ensure that all accounts and assets have designated beneficiaries. An elder law attorney can review beneficiary designations. The Last Will and Testament, if one is in place, and the beneficiaries need to be coordinated according to your wishes.
Understanding Probate and Its Drawbacks
Probate is the public legal process through which a deceased person’s assets are distributed. In Indiana, if assets exceeding $100,000 are solely owned and do not have a named beneficiary, they must go through probate, which can take months or even years to resolve in some cases. Probate also comes with added expenses, including court costs, attorney fees, and administrative fees, which can diminish the overall estate value. Additionally, probate is a public process, meaning some of your financial affairs and asset distributions become a matter of public record.
How We Can Help
An experienced elder law attorney can help individuals and families ensure that probate is avoided by reviewing and structuring asset ownership in a way that allows for direct transfer upon death. This includes:
- Adding Beneficiary Designations: Confirming that all bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and life insurance policies have designated beneficiaries with information provided by the client.
- Setting Up Payable-on-Death (POD) or Transfer-on-Death (TOD) Accounts: These designations allow assets to pass directly to heirs or into a trust without probate.
- Reviewing Real Estate Ownership: Using Transfer-on-Death deeds (TODs) to automatically pass real estate to heirs or a trust outside of probate and without delay.
By hiring an elder law attorney, you are essentially purchasing a form of preventative legal assistance against probate. Just as people buy life insurance to protect their loved ones, ensuring that assets are properly titled and beneficiaries are in place safeguards your estate from the delays and expenses of probate. With proactive planning, families can avoid unnecessary legal burdens and ensure that assets are quickly and efficiently transferred to their heirs.
In addition to providing handling estate issues upon a loved one’s passing, I can review beneficiary designations provided by my clients. Please call or text my office at: 812–423-1500 if you want to schedule an estate planning consultation and if provided, to review your beneficiary designations on any accounts or life insurance policies you have in place.