Many people pay close attention to asset management. Mapping assets carefully can help someone save money on taxes, transfer assets to the beneficiaries quickly, and ensure their family’s safety. You should consult a San Antonio Probate Lawyer if you want your family to avoid probate and acquire the assets without complications.
Avoiding probate can be helpful for the applicant and their family. If someone fails to create a will or a trust to leave their assets to the beneficiaries, the court will assign the assets directly to the applicant’s next of kin. While it may be ideal in some cases, default allocation of investments may not be everyone’s choice.
Tips to avoid probate:
- Drafting trusts
The first step towards avoiding probate is creating a trust or a living trust for precision. One can draft a living trust with the help of a private lawyer in San Antonio. This trust could be a better alternative to a will since avoiding probate with it could be difficult.
A living trust allows the applicant to list out the assets that the beneficiaries can acquire in the event of their death. A trustee would then manage the assets and properties placed in the living trust. Living trust directly allows you to avoid probate since the trust would handle the properties.
- Bank accounts for the beneficiaries.
Another simple way to avoid trust is by naming beneficiaries to bank accounts and retirement. Many people think they can only list out assets and properties for their family. But, one can easily quote a beneficiary for acquiring the payment in case of their demise.
You must name a beneficiary to your bank account, investments, and retirement plans. This process only requires the applicant to fill out a few forms to name the beneficiaries. It ensures the beneficiaries immediately disperse assets by avoiding probate and saving time and money.
- Joint holding
If you and your spouse want to purchase a new property or already own one, it would be necessary to ensure that you hold the property or asset in joint ownership. It allows one to avoid probate entirely and ensures the effective transfer of assets to the significant other.
You do not have to be necessarily married. The properties will be transferred to one of the surviving couples if the other faces death. The process for joint ownership is relatively straightforward. The applicant can quickly get past the documentation with the help of a lawyer.
