Probate And A Parent’s Trust Fund
If you’re smart, you try to plan ahead but even if you do, your heirs will end up spending time and money to go to court to settle your affairs. Many of us assume that if you have any legal document on the distribution of assets, then you are good to go.
“But sometimes you just need a little probate,” says John Ross of Ross & Shoalmire.
Many estate attorneys will have families sign both a will and a trust at the same time. A lot of times they will need both documents. Even though the trust does spell out most of the financial matters, not all are included. This means you will have to deal with probate in some sort of fashion.
Getting a good thorough trust can be a lot of time and a lot of money. Many families get a trust but do not list out every asset in the trust. “Think about a trust like it’s a bucket. It’s a great thing, as long as the bucket is completely full of your stuff. If your stuff is not all in the bucket, it’s not so great,” explains Ross. He also goes on to say that a title needs to be clear and if it is not then it will be probated.
In many cases, a client will sign a trust and feel covered, but in order to completely avoid probate they need to make sure every one of their assets goes to a beneficiary listed. If a name is forgotten or the beneficiaries have passed, the money will get locked up until the heirs go through probate court.