Answering Your Questions–Avoiding Probate
This edition of the Koldin Law Center E-Newsletter is part of a series about frequently asked questions sent to us from our Website.
All prior newsletters are saved on our website. You can read them by clicking here.
We receive many questions from clients and readers of our newsletter asking about Probate.
Question:
I recently read an article that stated savings bonds, savings accounts and investments that don’t have a beneficiary attached to them will have to go through probate when the owner is deceased. I thought that as long as I had beneficiaries named in my Will, I would not need probate. Is this correct?
Answer:
No, this is not correct. Whenever you use your Will to pass life savings to your beneficiaries, the Will must go through Probate.
Any assets/accounts titled in the name of your Trust pass to the beneficiaries named in your Trust after your death.
Any assets/accounts titled in joint names pass to the joint owner on the death of the first co-owner.
Any assets/accounts with a designated beneficiary pass to the beneficiary at the time of the owner’s death.
Any assets/accounts that are just in one person’s name without a designated beneficiary pass through your Will on your death.
In order for your Will to be carried out, it must be filed with the Court for Probate proceedings.
So, if your bonds are owned by a single person and do not have a beneficiary designated on them, then your Will would control who inherits the bonds.
Whenever a Will controls who inherits, that Will must be Probated.
To avoid the need for Probate, you need to either have the assets/accounts either titled in your Trust, titled in joint names, or have a designated beneficiary.
To learn more about a Last Will and Testament, please see our website by clicking here.
At the Koldin Law Center, P.C., located in East Syracuse, New York, we have over 50 years of experience helping individuals plan for immediate crisis and long term care.
The Koldin Law Center, P.C. limits its practice to the specific field of Elder Law which includes estate planning and Medicaid law.
Our attorneys are available to discuss your estate planning options, including the advantages and disadvantages of Revocable Trusts and Irrevocable Trusts, along with other estate planning considerations including a Will, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Proxy.
When the Koldin Law Center, P.C. handles a Medicaid case, we not only handle the entire application process, but we also review asset protection options with our clients. We review with our clients who are already in a Nursing Home options to protect some or all of their assets beyond merely establishing Medicaid eligibility.
We do not charge a fee for the initial consultation. We welcome your children, family attorney, accountant, and/or financial planner to be present at the initial consultation.
There is something you can do.
Our Attorneys are available to speak to your organization
Our Attorneys speak to groups throughout New York State as a public service. If you would like to arrange for one of our Attorneys to speak to your group, please contact our office.
We appreciate your referrals
We have been told by many clients who are in a crisis that they wish they had known about our firm much sooner. We are proud of the many families we have helped in times of crisis.
We are also proud of the many families we helped avoid financial crisis by doing estate planning in advance.
We all share the responsibility for making our family and friends aware of the planning options available to them.
Your referral to the Koldin Law Center could make a major difference in the lives of your family and friends if they are someday faced with a long term illness.
Remember that the Koldin Law Center offers many services for clients of all ages. Our services range from basic estate planning such as a simple will to complex estate planning including asset preservation planning.
THERE IS NO FEE FOR THE INITIAL CONSULTATION
