Effective inheritance planning is going to involve research. You should understand all of the facts and make fully informed decisions. If you make assumptions based on incomplete information, you may create unnecessary difficulties for your loved ones.
One misconception that people often harbor is the notion that a last will is the simplest, most efficient asset transfer vehicle in the field of estate planning. In reality, the process of estate administration is really not that simple when a last will is utilized.
The executor of the estate is the person who administers the estate after the passing of the testator. This estate administrator cannot immediately distribute assets to the heirs. There is a considerable delay, because the will would be admitted to probate. This is the legal process of estate administration. The probate court supervises the administration of the estate.
There are various different time-consuming endeavors that must be undertaken during the probate process. The heirs to the estate cannot receive their inheritances while this process is underway, so the time consumption is a major disadvantage.
In most areas, if the case is not particularly complicated, probate will run its course in around nine months to a year. However, more complicated cases can be stalled in probate for considerably longer.
Timely Asset Transfers
If this time lag is not to your liking, you can use a different vehicle of asset transfer. One possible alternative to a last will would be a revocable living trust.
Do not have to worry about surrendering control of assets that you convey into a living trust, because you can act as the trustee initially, and you can also act as the beneficiary. Of course, since the trust is revocable, you can dissolve it entirely if you want to, so your control is absolute.
Your goal is to facilitate asset transfers after your passing, so you name a successor trustee to administer the trust after you are gone. You also name successor beneficiaries.
In the trust declaration, you leave instructions that the trustee would follow regarding how you want the assets distributed to the beneficiaries after your passing. The assets will be distributed in accordance with your wishes, and these distributions could take place in a timely manner, because the probate court would not be involved.
This is just one probate avoidance strategy that can be implemented, but there are others.
Schedule a Free Consultation
There is no one-size-fits-all estate plan, so personalized attention is key. Your estate plan should be custom crafted to suit your specific needs.
Our firm can help if you would like to discuss your estate planning objectives with a licensed professional. We offer free consultations, and you can contact us through this page to set up an appointment: Hartford CT Estate Planning Attorneys.
Mr. Nirenstein is licensed to practice before the courts of the State of Connecticut and the United States District Court. He is a member of the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations, and the Estate and Probate, Elder Law, Business Law and Real Estate Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.
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