Learn how to prepare your estate and avoid costly mistakes Want to avoid probate? Gleaned from his forty-four years as an estate attorney, Sharp describes the probate process and the many reasons why it should be your last resort in estate settlement methods in How to Avoid Probate for Everyone. Living trusts are important, but there are many alternatives to using a living trust for probate avoidance. These alternatives are explained step-by-step as Sharp delves into the details. Examples of such approaches include: While state laws vary, most allow for expedited procedures for low-value estates without having to create a trust. There are a dozen different ways of leaving assets to heirs automatically at death. Special types of deeds allow you to keep control of your real estate during lifetime yet transfer it to heirs automatically at death. There are several ways of titling vehicles that allow heirs to get them without court procedures. Beneficiary designations on bank and investment accounts keep them out of your probate estate. Joint ownership of accounts and real estate can solve inheritance problems. Common myths and misconceptions about estates and probate are debunked. Trusts are covered in detail, including a section on must-use trust provisions to cover common complications and showing how a trust can easily resolve these. Joint and single trusts are examined and issues, such as how to handle personal property items, are suggested. (For instance, who gets the piano?) By avoiding probate court-supervised adult guardianship and conservatorship, families can avoid embarrassing and time-consuming incompetency hearings in court. Samples of the described documents are also included to give the reader an idea of what the paperwork actually looks like. Sharp’s matter-of-fact explanations will prepare any reader to take the necessary steps to prepare their estate with confidence and avoid probate.

Suggests methods for avoiding probate court, including setting up payable-on-death bank accounts, naming a beneficiary for retirement accounts, registering stocks in transfer-on-death forms, and creating a living trust.

Want to save your family money and hassle? Read this book! Probate court proceedings after a death can drag out and cost tens of thousands of dollars in attorney and court fees—money that would otherwise have gone directly to your loved ones. This topselling guide shows you the most effective ways to skip the probate process: • name payable-on-death beneficiaries for financial accounts • own property jointly • leave real estate with transfer-on-death deeds • use a living trust • name the right beneficiaries for IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement plans, and • use probate shortcuts for small estates. Completely updated, this edition includes the latest state laws on probate avoidance methods, and covers all the estate-related impacts of the recent changes to federal rules on retirement distributions.

Explains various ways to avoid the probate court system when passing your estate on to your family

Please note that this edition is now out of print and has been replaced by the 7th edition, also available through MyiLibrary ... Attorney Mary Randolph details eight key strategies to avoiding the probate money pit, including how to: * set up payable-on-death bank accounts* name a beneficiary for retirement accounts* register stocks & bonds, and vehicles, in transfer-on-death forms* hold property in joint ownership* take advantage of special procedures for small estates* create a living trust* give away property nowIncludes worksheets and sample letters, as well as state-by-state charts that pinpoint which strategies are viable in each state.*Recommended by Modern Maturity*Book of the Month Club selection