Probate is the legal process that takes place after your death to pass title to your assets, and to resolve any outstanding debts. An attorney, chosen by your executor, fills out the legally required documents and files them in the court. Based on this, a decision is made some time later as to how your assets will be disbursed among your heirs. It can become a long, expensive and arduous process.

Planning ahead to avoid probate will save your estate valuable time and money. An estate in probate will take an absolute minimum of six months to settle and can take several years to be settled. The court can even hold assets for four months just to give debtors sufficient time to make their claims. It is also a very expensive process that can cost an estate up to 8% of its worth to cover the attorney and personal representative fees. Depending on the size of your estate, this could mean tens of thousands of dollars that could otherwise have been given to your heirs. In addition, probate cases become public information, entitling anyone access to private matters, potentially causing embarrassment or aggravation to your family.