When someone dies, those left behind are left coping with a great deal of emotional distress, and often with financial stress as well. The legal processes that happen after death only serve to add to that stress in many cases. That’s because money and property do not just transfer automatically. The assets have to be transferred through a formal legal process.
In most cases, that process is probate. Probate involves going to court to settle an estate. However, there are also other options as well, including trust administration. If you want your assets to transfer via the trust administration process, you will have to take proactive steps to make that happen, as probate is the default. So, the big question is, is it worth it to do that? Are your heirs going to be better off with trust administration or probate after you are gone?
Here are a few key differences between them so you can decide.
Time Involved in Trust Administration of Probate
The first thing to think about when deciding between trust administration or probate is the amount of time that your heirs are going to have to spend settling your estate.
The American Bar Association explains that the average probate process takes six to nine months. That is a long time for your loved ones to remain in limbo without a clear idea of exactly when they will inherit and without the ability to move forward with their lives.
Trust administration can be completed much more quickly, usually within just a matter of weeks. Many people would prefer to have their heirs and beneficairies inherit more quickly, especially if loved ones who are left behind are going to be counting on this money once you are no longer there to support them or if the assets in the estate are difficult or complicated to manage and need to transfer to new owners quickly instead of being managed by the estate executive for months.
Costs of Trust Administration or Probate
The trust administration process is also generally much less costly than the probate process because the time involved and the legal fees and court expenses involved are much smaller. When your heirs do not have to go through an entire probate process, they can keep more of the money that you have left behind rather than spending it on the administrative costs of transferring your hard-earned assets.
Privacy of Trust Administration or Probate
The probate process is not a very private process. In fact, because the entire process takes place in court, the details of it can become public record. Other people can find out things like who inherited assets and how much money and property was left behind to transfer to loved ones.
These are things that many people would prefer to keep private. Your heirs and beneficiaries may also not want everyone in their lives to know details about the money and property that they are receiving after you pass away.
If you want to keep things more private and not have all of the details of your financial and family life aired in court for anyone to become aware of, then you may want to opt for trust administration instead of the probate process. That way, the proceedings are private and not court record, and no one needs to know about the inside details except for those involved in the transactions.
Chances of Your Wishes Being Challenged in Trust Administration or Probate
When you make an estate plan, you obviously want it to be followed. This can be more likely to happen with trust administration compared with the probate process. That’s because you will be interacting with your trust for a long time in most cases, rather than just making a will and then having it sit in a drawer and wait for your death.
If you manage your living trust as a trustee for years before you pass on, it is much harder for people to contest your wishes and argue that the trust shouldn’t be enforceable compared with contesting a will. This means the chances of your wishes being respected are higher.
Getting Help from an Estate Planning Attorney
The Law Offices of James A. Miller, P.C. can help you determine if trust administration or probate is right for you and can work with you on creating a trust if you decide that is the best option for your loved ones when you are gone. You will only be able to transfer assets through trust administration if you set up a trust, so you should work with an experienced attorney as soon as possible to get this estate planning task completed if this is the way that you would prefer your assets to be transferred after your death.
Contact our Worcester estate planning lawyers today at (508) 799-8885 or reach out online to schedule a consultation and learn more about the assistance we can offer.