Probate Assets vs. Non-Probate Assets

Some people are under the mistaken impression that having a will means that the probate process will be avoided upon death. Having a will allows you to appoint who will handle your affairs and who will inherit assets, and it can provide for various methods to lower costs to the estate (such as waiving the bond required of a personal representative). However, a will does not avoid the probate process; it simply gives directions to the probate court, and it must be probated in order to be effective.

If an asset is held in joint tenancy and a joint tenant survives, that asset will be a non-probate asset and pass outside of the probate process. Life insurance, annuities, IRAs, pension plans, or accounts with a P.O.D. (payable on death) or T.O.D. (transfer on death) designation will avoid probate using beneficiary designations, if the beneficiary survives. Any property held in trust, such as a living trust, will be non-probate property. Nearly all other assets cannot be transferred upon death without passing through the probate process.

Posted in: Living Trust,Probate