“Probate” is the name of the legal process through which the estate of a deceased person is settled through his or her personal representative, a party sometimes referred to as the “executor” of the estate. This process can be confusing, costly, and take several months to fully complete. As a result, many people use various legal mechanisms to avoid their estate going through probate. Some of the more common of these are detailed below.
Living Trusts – Washington state law1 people to place their property into a living trust, sometimes also referred to as an “inter vivos trust.” A trust creates a legal relationship between the settlor, the person who creates the trust, the trustee, who is the party that is responsible for the management of the trust, and the beneficiary or beneficiaries of the trust. When properly is held in trust, it can pass to the beneficiaries without going through probate upon the settlor’s death.
Joint Ownership – Joint ownership is another common way that people avoid the probate process. When two or more people jointly own a piece of property, that ownership also includes the “right of survivorship,” which means that the surviving owners automatically inherit the share of any owner that passes away while they own the property.
“POD” Bank Accounts – POD or “payable-on-death” bank accounts are a relatively simple way for people to transfer assets to another person in the event of their death while avoiding probate. While they are alive, the owner of the bank account has full ownership of the money in the account. Upon his or her death, however, the designated beneficiary will inherit the account without the necessity of court proceedings.
Community property agreements – A community property agreement is an agreement that is typically executed by a married couple that provides that any property owned by one individual automatically becomes community property2 in the event of his or her death. Washington state law3 exempts property that is subject to a community property agreement from the probate process.4
The Dickson
Law Group is a Washington State trust, estate, and probate litigation law firm
that maintains offices in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. In addition to
helping clients avoid probate, the firm also practices in the areas of business
law, intellectual property, family law, real estate, and general litigation.
References:
1
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=11.98
2 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=26.16.030
3
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.02.005
