When you open your door to the series of miniature monster’s and princesses’ exclaiming “trick-or-treat,” you can protect yourself from the “tricks” of the dark hallows eve night with the swift toss of a Twix or Snickers Bar.
Thus, evading the wrath of the ghosts and goblins on Halloween night is nothing to sweat when you’re equipped with the right tools (Twizzlers, M&M’s & Bubble-Gum).
The same rings true in the similarly scary world of asset protection and wealth management, as you can avoid the evil little tricks of the probate monsters by incorporating the appropriate documents into your Estate Plan.
Probate is the validation of a will, and administration of the assets in the decedent’s estate. This can be an incredibly long and expensive process, yet many are “tricked” into it due to the failure to evade it through proper estate planning. Similar to the Vampires that will be roaming the streets on Halloween night, Probate has away of sucking the wealth out of an estate. The best way to avoid this “trick” is to choose the following estate planning “treat:”
Pour-Over Will & Revocable Trust: Control & Protect Your Assets
A will coupled with a trust effectively bypasses probate. The pour-over will takes all of the property that passes through the will, and funnels it into the trust. Said property is then distributed to the trust beneficiaries pursuant to the terms of the trust. A pour-over will functions to ensure that all of the decedent’s property is transferred to trust.
Think of the pour-over will as a safety net that catches all of the assets that were not properly transferred into trust. All the contents of the net are then poured into the trust, ensuring that all of the property is ultimately distributed through the living trust. This effectively removes all of the property from the Last Will & Testament, thereby leaving nothing to be administered through probate. Who is tricking whom now?
Don’t get Tricked into Probate – incorporate a Living Trust into your plan to avoid the Ghosts of the Estate-Planning World!
OKAY, THAT’S ENOUGH CHEESINESS FOR ONE ARTICLE…
