Why Do People Try to Avoid Probate in Florida?

Have you heard that you should avoid probate but you do not really know why? Or are you new to estate planning and not sure what probate is in the first place? You are in good company! These concepts are complex and many are not certain of how they might apply to them until they begin the journey of building their estate plan.

This article aims to help readers understand why avoiding probate to the extent possible makes sense to many people as they build their estate plans in Florida.

What is Probate?

Under Florida law a deceased person cannot own property. Probate is a court-approved and court-supervised process that a deceased person’s estate will go through to ensure that the deceased’s estate is properly distributed to the rightful and intended heirs. This distribution will happen, of course, after any valid claims from creditors have been accounted for and properly handled.

Probate can be a complex legal process – but it is not good or bad. Probate can go very smoothly and amount to only minimal delays and expense. However, many horror stories exist where the probate process goes very badly. There are ways to plan your estate to ease probate and – in some circumstances – avoid it entirely.

Why Avoid Probate?

Generally speaking, many people try to avoid the bulk of an estate being subject to the probate process because the probate process has the potential to be very costly in terms of time and money. There are exceptions, of course, but the potential for causing significant issues is there.

Here are just some of the reasons that clients have determined that it is better to avoid probate to the extent possible:

• Probate can heed your loved ones’ access to inheritance. Even intended heirs cannot access their inheritance until probate is completed. This could present a burden to loved ones who will need to consider end of life costs and probate costs without having access to any money or assets they are to inherit from the estate itself. This is a particularly cumbersome problem if your spouse has no separate income or significant, separate assets. They will be left trying to pay living expenses without access to whatever they would have under the estate inheritance.
• Probate can be time-consuming, demanding, and inconvenient. Probate takes anywhere from a few months to complete, to many years. The probate process is complex and to complete it many deadlines must be met and complex paperwork filed. It can be a lot for people to manage, particularly if your loved ones live far away or have other demands on their time.
• Probate can be expensive: It will cost money to complete the probate process, which can cause unnecessary stress.  
• Probate can Invade Privacy. Probate records are open to the public. Meaning that anything that goes through probate could be subject to the eyes of the world. This could cause any number of problems, not least of which causing potential tension with your intended heirs. If you want to keep your estate’s financial affairs private – including the details of inheritance – it is advisable to avoid probate.

How to Avoid Probate: Contact Suncoast Civil Law

To avoid probate, you need to build your estate plan in a way that makes sure that your assets pass directly to your heirs. There are many ways to do this – what will work best in your own case will depend on the details of your own situation. The experienced Sarasota wills & probate attorneys at Suncoast Civil Law can help you assess your circumstances and work with you through the process of drafting the best estate plan for your own particular needs. Contact our office today to begin planning your best path forward.

Sources:

nbcmiami.com/responds/florida-is-holding-billions-in-unclaimed-property-heres-how-to-check-if-you-have-some/3230439/

myfloridacfo.com/division/unclaimedproperty/home