Estate Planning | Making a Difference One Family at a Time

//  by 

ancillary probateA lot of people don’t understand the complications that arise when you use a will as an asset transfer vehicle. The executor who is named as the administrator cannot act independently after the passing of the decedent. Under Connecticut state laws, the will would be admitted to probate.

Court Supervised Estate Administration

Probate is a court proceeding. The executor will complete the hands-on administrative tasks, and the court will supervise. Creditors are notified about the passing of the decedent, and the decedent’s final debts must be paid before the inheritances are distributed.

The assets are identified, inventoried, and prepared for distribution. This will often include appraisals and liquidation of property, and this can consume a good bit of time. The court will determine the validity of the will, and challenges can be presented during probate.

If everything goes very smoothly, it will take about nine months for probate to run its course in most jurisdictions. No inheritances are distributed during this interim, and the expenses that accumulate reduce the value of the estate.

In addition, there is the matter of privacy. Interested parties can access probate records if they go through the appropriate channels. As a result, anyone who wants to pry into the final affairs of the decedent can do so.

Ancillary Probate

Clearly, probate is less than ideal, and it can get worse if you die as a Connecticut resident and you own property in another state.

If you are in this position and you bequeath the out-of-state property in a will, the probate court in Connecticut will not be able to preside over the distribution of that property. An ancillary probate proceeding will take place in the state where the property is located.

Consequently, your family will be forced to deal with two different simultaneous probate procedures. The geographical distance can compound the situation, so ancillary probate is a major hassle

Probate Avoidance

You can react to these circumstances when you are planning your estate. If you use a revocable living trust instead of a will as your estate plan centerpiece, you will avoid the full probate process altogether. Paperwork, such as an estate tax return, will need to be filed with the Probate Court, but it will be a much faster and simpler process if you utilize a revocable living trust.

There is no reason to be concerned about losing control of the assets because you will be the trustee while you are living. When you are drawing up the trust, you name a successor trustee to administer the trust after you are gone.

The assets in the trust will be distributed to the beneficiaries in accordance with your wishes after your passing. These distributions would not be subject to Connecticut probate, and the out-of-state property would not be subject to ancillary probate.

In addition to the avoidance of probate, living trusts provide other advantages. We will not look at them here, but stay tuned because we will cover them in a future post.

Attend a Complimentary Seminar!

You are making the ideal connection if you are looking for information about estate planning. There are hundreds of blog posts and other materials to explore on this site, and we provide more detailed information at our seminars.

There is no charge to attend these events, and in addition to the knowledge you will obtain, you get a chance to interact with our firm to break the ice. To see the dates and learn more, visit our seminar schedule page.

Need Help Now?

We are here to help if you have already decided that you are ready to work with an attorney to put a plan in place. You can schedule a consultation appointment at our Westport or Glastonbury, CT estate planning offices by calling us at 860-548-1000, and there is a contact form on this site you can use to send us a message.

Jeffrey A. Nirenstein, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Jeffrey A. Nirenstein, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
Spread the love