Watch This Short Video to Learn How You Can Help Ensure Your Estate Avoids Probate

Is a Will enough to ensure your Estate avoids Probate? Watch Attorney Justin Randall explain the difference between Wills and Trusts, and what might be best for your Estate on this recent Local Five Live appearance.

Frank Hermans
When it comes to Estate Planning, it's not one size fits all. That's why the help of an expert is so important to craft these documents.

Millaine Wells
Justin Randall is here from Hooper Law Office to discuss this important topic. Good morning to you, Justin. Good morning. We always have a million questions for you in the commercial break. You know, we get that mini, mini advice session. Probate is something that keeps coming up. Why do we need to understand what Probate is? And do you need to go through Probate if you have a Will?

Justin Randall
Yeah. So Probate is the process that somebody Estate might go through depending on how they hold their assets. You know, if things have beneficiary designations on them, they have joint ownership or they're owned by a Trust. They can avoid Probate. But when accounts don't have beneficiaries on them, or real estate is a really common asset and somebody passes away that will go through Probate, most likely. So Probate is really the process where those assets are administered or potentially where a Will is administered as well.

Frank Hermans
Not to harp on Probate, but is Probate necessary?

Justin Randall
It can be avoided if that's what somebody's goal is. So a lot of times when somebody is trying to avoid Probate, what we recommend is using a Trust to do so, because you can still Plan for where you want your assets to go, how you want them handled. There's any sort of special considerations that you might have for your beneficiaries, whereas with just beneficiary designations, you really can't do that. They're sort of a good a-to-b transfer is all that they're really good for. So there are tools to use, but not the whole Plan. So if you want to avoid Probate, you can absolutely do it. You just need to make sure you're doing it the right way.

Millaine Wells
Who needs to have a Will and or a Trust? There's not really a size of a bank account or a number of assets, right?

Justin Randall
No, not at all. You know, size and state can make a difference depending on the type of Trust somebody might use, But it's not the main factor in whether they use a Will or a Trust. It's really more what process do you want your Estate to follow?

Frank Hermans
Is it okay? I'm harping on Probate. Is it good to avoid Probate?

Justin Randall
It can be depending on your circumstances. It can be more expensive. It can take a longer period of time from start to finish to get through. But there are really good reasons that somebody might go through Probate if they have minor kids. That's where you have to have guardians named. If you have more debt than you have assets, that's a great place to deal with that as well.

Justin Randall
Or if you have a Will that has very special Planning in it for one of your beneficiaries in order for that Planning to be followed, you have to have the will go through Probate. If the Will is where that Planning is done.

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