Are There Any Assets That Avoid Probate In Florida?
Right before your assets can be given to the people you love, they must go through probate.
Probate allows your assets to be organized/managed, while also preventing your beneficiaries from receiving them for quite some time, due to the overall length of the process.
Given this fact, many people choose to bypass probate with an effective estate plan.
On the other hand, though, some choose to bypass probate by giving their beneficiaries assets that, by their very nature, bypass probate.
Going over what these assets are and how to implement them in your estate planning, while speaking with a lawyer, will allow you and your beneficiaries to obtain the best possible outcome.
Are There Any Assets That Avoid Probate In Florida?
To answer the question outlined above, “Yes, there are some assets that avoid probate, in Florida.”
Even though the above is true, there is one thing to mention: some of these assets are assets, and some of these are assets that are tied up in a particular arrangement that, as per this arrangement, allows these assets to bypass probate.
Going over these assets, as well as these arrangements, will allow you to avoid probate.
What Assets Avoid Probate In Florida?
A wide variety of assets avoid probate in Florida.
Some of the most notable, of these assets, are as follows:
- Your retirement accounts.
- Your life insurance.
- Your bank accounts.
- Your investment accounts.
Every single one of the above can, and should, have named beneficiaries.
A named beneficiary can receive the account that they are set to be the beneficiary of, without the account going through probate.
What Arrangements Allow An Asset To Avoid Probate?
Many different asset arrangements can, and will, allow specific assets to avoid probate.
Out of all these asset arrangements, the two most notable are as follows:
- Rights of survivorship; this asset arrangement allows several people to own an interest in the asset, so that when one person passes away, the interest owned by that person flows to the surviving individual.
- Tenancy by entirety; this asset arrangement allows two spouses to own an asset so that, when one spouse passes away, the asset goes directly to the other of the spouse.
Every single one of the arrangements outlined above serves as a form of “joint ownership.” Joint ownership is a very effective way for you to avoid probate.
Outside of joint ownership, there is another arrangement that, if implemented properly, will allow you to avoid probate.
The arrangement, in question, is a trust.
You can set up a trust to hold your assets. And, if this is done properly, those assets will go to your beneficiaries, in the event of your death, without needing to go through the probate process.
Speak With A Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Today
A wide variety of arrangements can, and will, allow you to avoid probate in Florida. Speak with a Florida estate planning lawyer at the Millhorn Elder Law Planning Group today and we will help you implement the arrangement that is right for you.
Sources:
help.flcourts.gov/Other-Resources/Probate
law.cornell.edu/wex/right_of_survivorship
law.cornell.edu/wex/tenancy_by_the_entirety
