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2. Joint tenancy, this has it's own issues most importantly having to pay a gift tax and your son losing the step up value when he inherits the property. There are other issues as well.
3. Payable on death can be done for bank accounts and this money avoids probate
4. Transfer on death for stocks and bonds but NOT real estate property or vehicles
5. If value of estate is less than $25K you can do a simplified probate
Your best option is the trust perhaps combined with a Payable on death for your niece if it is a set amount of money you wish to give her. If it is a percentage then keep it all to a trust.
I did a research on this for my sister, we’re in California, there’s a way to do transfer of property on Death, I think the law was passed recently.
Are you saying that if someone had $500K in a brokerage account that had POD/TOD beneficiary and no other assets that probate is still required in Texas?
Theoretically, no.
But, invariably, there could be money coming to the deceased from a variety of sources that are made out to the deceased or to the estate of and probate will have to be opened to cash those checks.
But, invariably, there could be money coming to the deceased from a variety of sources that are made out to the deceased or to the estate of and probate will have to be opened to cash those checks.
What does that mean..."coming to the deceased from a variety of sources"?
You mean like from a life insurance policy? Wouldn't that be the designated death beneficiary (which would not subject to probate).
What does that mean..."coming to the deceased from a variety of sources"?
You mean like from a life insurance policy? Wouldn't that be the designated death beneficiary (which would not subject to probate).
Many people designate beneficiaries on life insurance policies as well as other assets but don't keep them current. Beneficiaries can die too and years before the policy/asset holder does.
"Other sources" could be tax refunds, dividends or interest income from investments, annuities, scheduled withdrawals from pensions...
My point is not every assets will be in the trust BEFORE you die so it is possible that you still have to go through probate for the non trust and non TOD or POD or joint assets.
Where did you go to law school? Because I think your logic is flawed. Speak to an attorney for clarification.
Many people designate beneficiaries on life insurance policies as well as other assets but don't keep them current. Beneficiaries can die too and years before the policy/asset holder does.
But the context was in regards to a hypothetical for a TOD/POD having to go thru probate.
Which it wouldn't - that would defeat the purpose of designating TOD/POD.
If I have a $500K brokerage account and have a designated TOD/POD - that account is not part of any computation of estate worth regarding probate. And the money goes to that beneficiary.
Now, granted, if that beneficiary predeceases me, then yeah that account would be subject to probate if all I had was a simple will.
Hence, for me, I have a trust with several layers of contingencies specified where I have put my brokerage accounts and property into the trust.
Heck, I'm still working out who to give money to. Gotta figure that out first.
I was musing about an anti-probate plan. If I were single and had some singularly nasty health problem with a dead end (so to speak), I think I'd like to buy a one way ticket to Switzerland for a rather dignified EOL, liquidate everything except for a flight bag with clothes/books/pocket change, convert everything else to bullion. Hire an attorney or trusted friend to hand out the bullion based on some rule set.
Are you saying that if someone had $500K in a brokerage account that had POD/TOD beneficiary and no other assets that probate is still required in Texas?
No, probate is for assets distributed per a will. Beneficiaries and assets specified in POD/TOD are not subject the same laws and can be administered as soon there is a death certificate.
I have heard, and rumors/stories can be false and every State has different laws, that every estate passes through Probate. The difference is whether the Probate Action is a cursory examination to verify everything was done in accordance with State Law and the Will, or if the Court needs to hold extended hearings to determine the correct/intended asset distributions with no documented input from the deceased.
As for your second question:
No, we are not in the top 10% where we can hire an army of attorneys and accountants to do this work for us at no concern for the cost. Neither are we in the bottom 60% where we have no assets or nearly no assets to be concerned with. We are in between those two groups with enough wealth for its distribution to be a concern, but not enough wealth whereby we do not have to become directly involved in the research and actions.
I assumed most of us on the Forum were also in or approaching that 30% band of forced D-I-Y'ers.
it really depends on the state and the assets ... we were involved with a business in a trust . the court had to sign off on it that taxes were filed and paid on the business before it could pass ... that is when the court realized there was a defect in wording and was going to call the trust and will invalid .
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