Can probate be avoided?
Yes, in certain situations. Probate involves only the court process of transferring property. For example, if a husband and wife own everything jointly, the jointly owned property would go to the surviving spouse and no probate is necessary. This is the same for other joint owners of property. Property in a trust would go to the beneficiaries outside of probate. Life insurance proceeds and some retirement benefits go to the named beneficiary. Even when property does not pass through probate, if a tax return is required, much of the work of administering an estate must still be done.
Yes, in certain situations. Probate involves only the court process of transferring property. For example, if a husband and wife own everything jointly, the jointly owned property would go to the surviving spouse and no probate is necessary. This is the same for other joint owners of property. Property in a trust would go to the beneficiaries outside of probate. Life insurance proceeds and some retirement benefits go to the named beneficiary. Even when property does not pass through probate, if a tax return is required, similar work to administering an estate must be done.
Yes. Certain property will not have to pass through probate before it can be distributed. They include jointly held property (joint bank accounts, real estate held as joint tenants, etc.), community property (unless one spouse Wills away his or her one-half interest in the community property), small estates (in California estates valued at less than $100,000 can pass by way of a signed affidavit according to the probate code), life insurance proceeds (as long as they are not payable to the estate of a deceased person), IRA’s, 401K’s, retirement accounts, and property passing to a surviving spouse (California allows property to pass to a surviving spouse through a streamlined process called a spousal property petition), and assets held in a living trust.
