How to Avoid Probate in Florida
Probate in Florida is a time-consuming and expensive process. Probate is the court-supervised process of administering a person’s estate after they pass away. It can cost thousands of dollars, depleting the property within someone’s estate, and probate can take anywhere from six months to several years. While it is fairly easy to avoid the process, many people do not take the necessary steps to do it. Below, our Tampa probate lawyer outlines some of the most common methods to avoid probate.
Living Trusts
Establishing a living trust is the most common way people avoid probate. When you establish a trust, you transfer property into it. Property can include your bank accounts, vehicles, real estate, and other personal items. Living trusts are separate legal entities and so, they are not required to go through probate. During your lifetime, you can name yourself as trustee and manage the property within the trust. You retain the right to sell, transfer, or gift property, and you can add property to the trust.
When creating a living trust, you also name a successor trustee. This individual will take over management of the trust when you pass away. You will also designate beneficiaries of the trust who will receive the property within the trust when you pass away.
Joint Ownership and Joint Tenancy
You can also avoid probate for your bank accounts or property deeds by adding a joint owner to them. It is important that it is clear that the property or account is owned as joint tenancy with survival rights and not as common tenants. If you are married, you and your spouse can own tangible personal property and bank accounts, which is known as tenancy by entirety. In any case, when property is clearly co-owned, it will automatically transfer to the surviving owner after you pass away.
Transfer-on-Death and Payable-on-Death
Transfer-on-death is a type of registration for securities that allows you to appoint one or more beneficiaries who will receive the property automatically upon your death. The brokerage that accepts the registration of the TOD delivers the securities as per your instructions.
Bank accounts can also have payable-on-death designations. This is an arrangement you create with the financial institution. Like TODs, this protects the financial account from probate. Instead, the funds within the bank account are transferred automatically to the beneficiary.
Our Probate Lawyer in Tampa Can Help
If you pass away and have not taken any of the above steps, there is little your family can do to avoid the probate process. However, there are many steps you can take today to help them avoid the cost and stress involved with probate. At Messina Law Group, P.A., our Tampa probate lawyer can advise on your case, recommend tools that will avoid probate, and ensure they are executed properly so your family is protected. Call us today at (813) 492-7798 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with our experienced attorney and to learn more about how we can help with your case.
Source:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/0733ContentsIndex.html
