Boise and Nampa’s best estate planning attorney provides specific ways to avoid probate
Boise and Nampa’s best estate planning attorney can help you avoid the disadvantages of probating a will. The process is not only costly but also time-consuming and intrusive. Idaho estate planning goes beyond giving your property and assets to your loved ones. It is about peering into the future to establish the worst possible scenarios that could occur to you and putting up a plan to protect you and your family members. Most people find ways to avoid probate, including:
Give away your estate before death
Giving away your property, assets, and money to another person while alive is considered a gift. It means that you no longer have an ownership interest in them. It’s an effective way to reduce your property and hopefully fall below the thresholds where probate is needed. The downside of this option is you don’t know how long you will live and the assets you must take care of yourself.
Spend the estate on yourself
You can spend all your money, assets, and property on yourself before death. That way, there won’t be any assets that need to be probated when you die. Typically, a probate is required in Idaho once you die and leave behind an estate that includes assets with a value of $100,000 or more. The same applies when your name appears on the deed to any real estate, land, or home, regardless of value. Consider removing your name from the legal deed of any land, property, and real estate to lower the value of your estate to below $100,000. The downside of this choice is you don’t know how long you will live to spend it all on yourself and still avoid being broke before death.
Surviving spouses can utilize summary administration
Surviving spouses have a few more options than everyone else regarding probate. You could do a regular probate or a Summary Administration if you lost your spouse recently. Regular probate is ideal in making sure that all creditors are taken care of so that the assets transferred through probate can go to the spouse free of most creditors’ claims. The issue is that most spouses are joint debtors on debt, meaning paying off creditors after a spouse’s death is unhelpful. That is where Summary Administration comes into play.
Usually, one transfers property and assets to themselves from the deceased spouse. It doesn’t require regular probate and can be done very quickly. Still, your family cannot use a Summary Administration in case you pass away. That means your family has to determine if your estate meets the threshold requirements for probate. If it does, a probate will be required.
Utilize a trust
You can create a trust and transfer ownership to the trust of any real property, lands, or homes that would push the estate’s value above the limit of $100,000. During the creation, you will likely name yourself as the first beneficiary of the trust. This way, you can get the opportunity to enjoy the use of and the benefit of any property put in the trust while alive. On passing away, the trust can have instructions that require the trustee to distribute the property or money to surviving loved ones immediately.
Work with Boise and Nampa’s best estate planning attorney
Do you want to avoid probate in Idaho? Boise and Nampa’s best estate planning attorney can help you and your family with your probate requirements. Our experts will be happy to discuss your options and provide the best legal advice for your case.
Jacobson & Jacobson Law Firm, since 1982, is committed to serving the Boise and Nampa, Idaho areas for your top Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, Business Law, Estate Planning, Family Law, Immigration Law, and Litigation needs. Contact us today to get started.