As a senior, planning for your estate and probate could help your loved ones through a very difficult time. Thinking about the details ahead of time reduces the possibility for family conflicts surrounding your intentions and can also speed up the process.
Although estate planning and long term care have gained increasing focus from researchers, more needs to be known about the impact of probate on the elderly and their family members. In 1989, the AARP completed a probate related study, finding that more than 90% of all probate cases involved property disposition for people aged 60 and older.
At that point in time, consumers were spending as much as $2 billion every single year on probate related expenses. Probate typically comes into play after the surviving spouse of the marriage passes away, since most couples own property jointly. Seniors, however, are not the only ones to be potentially blindsided by probate.
Grandchildren and children can also face the sting of what happens when someone does not follow through on estate planning or keeping family members and heirs in the loops.
While probate simply refers to the legal transfer of your assets after verifying the presence of a will or the distribution of assets for someone who did not have a will, there are important steps you can take to streamline this for all your beneficiaries.
Being aware of potentially unreasonable expenses should lead you to schedule a consultation with a Pasadena estate planning attorney who can help you to get a big picture view of your estate planning documents and to protect yourself with your next steps.
