How to help your family avoid probate after you’re gone

(InvestigateTV) — Probate, the court process used to settle an estate, can be a long and expensive process for families after a loved one dies. Taking a few steps in advance can help ensure a home, car and savings go directly to family members without court involvement.

Michael Joyce, a financial advisor at CW Advisors, said probate can often be avoided by using legal tools that transfer property automatically upon death. The primary options include a revocable living trust, beneficiary designations on financial accounts and joint ownership.

Joyce said probate laws differ depending on where a person lives and where they own property.

“Probate is different in different municipalities and different states,” Joyce said. “If you own, for example, a home in Virginia and a home in Florida, you are going to have ancillary probate in one of those places.”

Joyce said generally only assets that pass through a will are subject to probate.

“If you have assets in joint name and one of the joint owners dies, those assets are not going to be probated at that time because they will automatically go to the joint owner,” Joyce said. “If you have beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, on insurance policies, things like that, that’s not going to be probated either.”

Joyce said it is important to know which assets are held individually and would pass through a will, and which already have joint owners or listed beneficiaries. Because probate laws vary from state to state, he recommends working with a professional familiar with the rules in your specific location when creating a will.