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Why Do Wills Have to Be Probated?

By: Berber

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The official way our society transfers the property of a dead person to living people is through the probate process.

An entire court system has been established in every county in the nation to do probate. The criminal and civil offices in the courthouse are usually separated physically from the probate court offices. Can you see just how big probate is in the United States? Property that passes after a death, which requires a signature in order to be transferred, must go through probate, unless some sort of a legal trick is used to avoid probate.

People usually use joint tenancy with rights of survivorship at the "legal trick" to get around the probate problem.

Joint tenancy is a type of ownership vehicle that probably shouldn't be used, even between a husband and wife.Joint tenancy creates an asset protection disaster and a tax disaster.Even if you do avoid probate, the cost you will end up paying is often a lot more than you would actually pay a lawyer to go through probate.POD accounts, life insurance policies, IRAs, 401(k)s, other retirement accounts, benefit accounts, and a number of other common legal tools avoid probate in specific situations.

Whenever there is a probate, it is a big step forward if there is a will to direct the court and express the desires of the deceased person. If you don't have a will that you have written, the state has a statutory will for you. I don't think you are going to love that will. At least take the time to prepare just a simple will. To transfer the following types of property you need a signature. Bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, brokerage accounts, car titles, and of course real estate all need a signature to transfer ownership.

A safety deposit box can only be opened by your signature, so who signs after you die? Who signs the deed, after you die and the kids want to sell your house? That's when she is going to have a problem. Assuming she doesn't live in the house, but sells the house immediately after you die. If you're dead, you're not going to be signing a lot of deeds. Your daughter can make the argument that she got the house after you died. She can probably even produce your will which leaves the house to her. However, the title company will not accept her signature on the deed. For sure, the buyer shouldn't let her get away with signing the deed.

During the probate proceeding she is going to have to prove that the will she has is in fact your last will and testament. Just having her say that the will is your real will won't satisfy the probate court. The probate court will demand proof. Your daughter will have to show the probate court that you didn't owe money to anybody and that your creditors have all been paid. She can do this by publishing in the papers to find any creditors she doesn't know about.

He will give her a paper called a "letters testamentary" after she has proven everything to the court's satisfaction. The buyer has good title to the property, even though your signature isn't actually on the deed, because the title company has recorded the letters testamentary with the title in order to establish the public record that the probate has transferred the title.

Guaranteed Millionaire, my new book, gives you a detailed explanation of the probate process. Order it now and get a bonus FREE 90 minute audio CD. Make sure you click or ask for the bonus, which is a $20 value.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

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