Lawyers who specialize in Probate Law in Wichita often know about estate law, too and can help people avoid probate. Probate is essentially when the court gets to supervise how a individual’s property is distributed after death. A good number of people think that writing a will can avoid probate. It does not. So why would people want to hire a lawyer to find ways to avoid probate? It’s simple. Probate can be expensive. There are fees that are associated with filing forms. Fees for lawyers also have to be considered. There is also the time it takes to complete the process. It’s not uncommon for probate to take up to a year to complete.
Contacting Business Name or other lawyers who deal with Probate Law in Wichita can definitely give people insight on how to avoid property. Lawyers might recommend that people give away property in order to avoid probate. Strategic gifting can be an important part of a sound estate plan. People who take this path have to be careful. Decisions are not final. A will can always be changed if a relationship changes. There is also the problem of younger relatives manipulating older relatives into giving away property and possessions. Gift tax might have to be paid if the gift has a value over a predetermined amount of money. People might make yearly gifts in order to avoid gift tax.
Another way that people can avoid going through probate is by having joint ownership of property. When there is a survivorship right attached to ownership, there isn’t any need for the property to go through probate after one of the owners dies. The ownership of the property will go directly to the only other owner left. As with giving away property, there are certain drawbacks to using joint ownership to avoid probate. First, the owner that is added gains rights as far as the property is concerned. The property can be sold without the new owner’s consent. Second, a gift tax might have to be paid when a co-owner is added. Also, if the added owner is married and then goes through a divorce, the property may become something that is fought over during the divorce. You can also visit them on Google+ for more information.
