4. Because you don’t want the unnecessary delay and extra expense associated with a probate administration of your estate.
Many people engage in estate planning with the goal of avoiding probate. Probate proceedings can be lengthy, burdensome and expensive. They involve a good deal of paperwork and can cause long delays before your property is actually distributed to your family members or other beneficiaries. If you die intestate (without a Will) or utilize a Will-based estate plan, then most of your property will go through a probate administration to transfer ownership to your beneficiaries. The use of joint tenancies, beneficiary designations and pay/transfer on death designations can cause some property to avoid the probate process but the most comprehensive and reliable method of avoiding probate is to utilize a Living Trust. Property held by the Living Trust avoids probate entirely and is often distributed to the beneficiary more quickly. There is some expense in administering a Living Trust after the Grantor (the one who created the trust) dies, but it is generally less expensive than a probate administration. A Living Trust also offers your family more privacy than a Will because probate documents are often available to the public. For most families, probate is undesirable and unnecessary. But luckily for these families, probate is also avoidable through effective estate planning.
