How To Prevent Your Family’s Assets From Being Frozen in Probate

Probate is a long process that publicly sorts through your family’s assets. On average, probate can take anywhere from nine months to two years. During the first period of probate proceedings, your family’s assets will be frozen. This means that none of these assets can be withdrawn, transferred, or sold. If you family requires money to cover living costs, they will have to petition the court for a living allowance. That allowance can be denied by the court, leaving your family without access to your assets for a period of time after you die. If this scenario makes you feel uneasy, there are legal avenues available, but the solution requires action on your part.

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Guardianship Provisions

Ensuring that your children are well cared-for in the event of your death is usually the very first provision of a simple will. This ‘guardianship provision’ requires specific language to ensure that your children are both cared for and that they properly inherit under your will. The first part of the guardianship provision is the naming of all members for your immediate family. Naming the family members assists the children’s personal representative in finding nearby relatives and locating assets.

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Spouse’s Legal Rights to a Deceased’s Spouse’s Assets

In a community property state, upon death, spouses have the right to dispose of their share of community property in whatever way they see fit. A deceased spouse can distribute both their separate property and their share of the community property in a will. In non-community property states, a spouse is not automatically entitled to half the interest in all property acquired during the marriage. This is because both spouses do not necessarily own all property acquired during the marriage. Rather, ownership is determined by whose name is on the title or by establishing which spouse’s income purchased the property, although courts seek an equitable distribution of such assets.

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