Payable on death may have some scary characteristics that only this brief summary and others like it would be able to dispel, as it isn’t just a simple stating of whom gets what as it might have been, but courts and creditors make it very difficult to leave money to those left after death. A payable on death bank account is a regular bank account, except that the account names a specific person as the beneficiary in the case of the account holder’s demise, and is one of the easiest and safest ways to prevent any loss of assets through a probate court. However, reading further into all the free advice on the internet can lead one to a dead end because there are so many different opinions, and only by consulting a lawyer specializing in estate planning and elder law can one feel absolutely certain of their future.
A probate court, or surrogate court, is a group of individuals that administer the distribution of assets of one who has died or ascertains the validity of any proposed wills or legal contracts. Choosing a lawyer to begin drawing up a document binding your assets to a will or trust can be just as expensive and time-consuming as the amount of expense taken up by the probate court, but the difference between the drawn out process of a probate court redistributing belongings without a valid will is small in comparison with simply confirming and enforcing the provisions of a person’s wishes. Finding that power of attorney that has the skills to affect certainty in a positive favor is the most necessary step in the success of avoiding probate.
Avoiding probate is the simplest way of ensuring your assets for another beneficiary after passing away, one must be aware of the options to safeguarding an estate’s assets, and prepare for what might happen in the near future. One must also consider the power of attorney as it pertains to the estate of the deceased, in the case of a will, as that decides who will be in charge of the redistribution of assets after passing. In the case of a trust, the creator decides who trustees will be, and what other roles might come into play as well as the action of conservatorship.
Elder law is just one fancy way of saying the legal practices of estate planning as related to the elderly and the protection of their assets, because the elderly face difficult decisions at the end of their life such as: Social Security and Medicaid/ Medicare coverage as well as nursing care and the contingencies of incapacity and disability, the stress of these varying influences can make it difficult to see the benefits in planning for the future when there are so many options. Taking the time to properly weigh the options before acting will be the most beneficial in the long run.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
Latest posts by Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
- Ways to Avoid Probate - July 15, 2019
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