What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Probate?

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Probate?

Probate gets a pretty bad rap for being something that delays beneficiaries from receiving their inheritance and may even eat up considerable funds from the estate. Is there any time when probate court can actually be a good thing? Let’s look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of probate.

The Advantages of Probate

If someone passes away without executing a will or having other estate planning measures in place, probate can really save the day. A few of the advantages include:

• Provides a legal means of redistributing the estate
• Enforces and validates the wishes included in a will
• Cares for remaining debts and taxes so heirs don’t have to worry someone will eventually come knocking at the door looking for money that may have long been spent
• May encourage debt forgiveness due to the window for claims against the estate being short

The Disadvantages of Probate

Here are a few of the reasons most people try to avoid probate with their estate planning:

• Probate is public record, so anyone can look up your financial information
• Executor fees and court costs may cut significantly into the value of the estate
• Probate can keep beneficiaries from receiving funds for weeks, months, or in some cases even years
• Complicated probate regulations can put a huge strain on beneficiaries and especially on the executor of the will
• The courts make the final decisions on your estate rather than you
• The higher the gross value of your estate, the higher the probate fees, making it more cost effective to create and maintain a revocable trust

Southern California Estate Planning Attorneys

Petrov Law Firm has the Southern California estate planning attorneys you can trust to help you develop an affordable and effective plan of action for the future. Contact us today by calling 619-344-0360 to get started.