5 Reasons To Avoid Probate In Texas
When you pass away in the state of Texas, it is likely that your loved ones will have to go through the probate process, even if you have a will. This process can be emotionally draining and has the potential to cause issues such as privacy concerns, familial conflict, hefty legal fees, and more. In the event that you pass away or become incapacitated, your family will have enough going on simply adjusting to a life without you in it. They don’t need the worry of complicated legal issues in addition to that! An experienced Texas probate attorney can help you properly plan for the future and bypass probate altogether, saving your loved ones from the headache of the complex probate process during an already emotional time.
Probate is the legal process that a person’s assets and estate have to go through in order to be distributed. The executor of the will is responsible for starting the probate process, which involves validating the will (if there is one), appraising the assets, paying off any outstanding debts and taxes, and then distributing what remains to any heirs or beneficiaries. Even with legal guidance, it is challenging to navigate and should be avoided for the sake of your family.
Here are 5 of the main reasons to avoid probate in Texas!
Reason #1 – It’s Expensive
The cost of probate can add up quickly, as there are numerous legal fees involved in the process. In fact, 3-7% of the total value of your estate is typically how much the probate process will cost your family (depleting the inheritance you had planned to leave them or requiring them to pay fees out of their own pockets). Between appraisal fees, executor fees, attorney fees, court costs, and more, probate can be extremely pricey, putting a financial burden on the shoulders of your family when they should be focused on mourning you.
Reason #2 – It’s Time-Consuming
Probate can take an extensive amount of time to resolve. With a simple will, probate could take about 6 months, but depending on possible complications, like a contested will, or no will at all, probate can take upwards of 9 months to a year. This is a large amount of time for your family to have to dedicate to sorting out your estate in addition to everything else they have going on in their lives.
Reason #3 – It’s Public
Another reason to avoid probate in Texas is that besides the time and money it takes to get through probate, the entire process is generally public record, making the details of your assets and estate accessible online (depending on your county). The records needed for the probate process have your personal information and your family’s personal information included on them. It is likely that your family would prefer to keep things as private as possible, which could be done if you get a trust in place before your death, thereby skipping the Texas probate process all together.
Reason #4 – It’s Likely To Cause Conflict
If you don’t take the time to legally dictate to whom and how your assets will be distributed, it is likely your family members will experience tension and possible disputes over who gets what. This is to be expected as the probate process can cause a great deal of emotional and financial difficulty for everyone involved. Conflict over someone’s last wishes or over the validity of their will can prolong probate and make it more expensive; it can add a tremendous amount of pressure and stress that your loved ones will have to endure.
Reason #5 – Loss Of Control
Organizing your affairs is essential if you want to keep your family out of jeopardy, secure your assets, and ensure that they are distributed according to your wishes. When you don’t make the important decisions regarding your estate, the state of Texas will do it for you. If you don’t make a will, your assets will still have to go through probate, but how they will be distributed will be determined by the state’s intestacy laws. Texas’s intestacy laws state that all of the assets will typically go to the deceased person’s spouse or children; however, this may not be what you wanted to occur!
How Does A Trust Help Me Avoid Probate?
If you want to protect your family from these issues, it is important to work with an estate planning attorney who can help you create a will, trust, power of attorney, and other important legal documents. By clarifying your wishes, you can save your loved ones extreme hassle if something happens to you so they can focus on grieving you and moving forward with their lives.
In Texas, you can avoid the probate process by establishing a living trust. A living trust is a legal tool that allows you to name someone as a “successor trustee” after your death. You’ll be able to transfer ownership of your assets to the trust itself, and at the time of your death the successor trustee can transfer the assets and more to your elected beneficiaries without having to go through the probate process. If you have minor children, it may be important for you to create a will as well in order to designate a guardian in the event of your death or incapacitation.
When you decide to create a trust, it is in your best interest that you work with a seasoned estate planning attorney who is familiar with the process, can explain your options, and answer your questions. While it might be tempting to utilize the free “do-it-yourself” trust templates available online, they often lack the correct legal language and clauses, making them invalid and leading to mistakes that will cost you greatly down the road. No one wants to think about a future they won’t be a part of, but it is crucial that you do so now, as tomorrow is never guaranteed!
How Villegas Law Firm Can Help
At the Villegas Law Firm, we have extensive knowledge of Texas’s probate laws and over 15 years of legal experience that we can use to guide you through the process of establishing an estate plan that can help you avoid probate in Texas, make your wishes clear, and protect your assets and loved ones from whatever the future may hold. We are committed to creating a positive client experience that will leave you with peace of mind. Call today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can help you!