Estate Planning
After practicing law for over 25 years, and after having prepared thousands of Estate Plans, I have come to the conclusion that a Last Will and Testament is no longer an acceptable method of Estate Planning.
There is no doubt a long fostered misconception that 'all you need is a Last Will and Testament'. Nothing could be further from the truth. More money and resources are wasted in the Will/probate process than anywhere else in the legal system.
In the long run, Wills are very expensive to fulfill. A Will defaults most of the necessary administrative decisions to the state laws which are not established in the best interests of the client. Many Wills end up not meeting the intent of the person who established them. This would be a failure.
After 25 years of seeing abuses of Wills by Attorneys and Executors, I cannot in good faith prepare a Last Will and Testament for a client where I anticipate there will be a Probate.
I say this because a Last Will and Testament is a two-phase process. The first phase is the creation of the Will. Most people have accomplished this phase and have a Will.
However, the second phase of the Will is the Probate Court Process. In the State of Washington, a Will must go through the entire Probate Court proceedings, if the decedent has any 'probatable assets'. Probatable assets would include real estate (in any form of ownership), and most investments, or bank accounts.
Since the average cost of Probate is in excess of $5100 and because the probate process can drag on for an average of 9 months, the relative cost and ease of the Will quickly becomes burdensome. More critically, Wills tend to cause family disharmony because of the frustration caused by the Probate process.
Does this sound shocking?
A Revocable Living Trust is a much better way to ensure that your assets are transferred to your heirs. Living Trusts are not subject to Probate. Your assets would be distributed exactly the way that you want them and exactly when you want them to be distributed.
If you want to know the whole truth about Wills and Trusts, then I urge you to download the Free Consumer's Guide to Estate Planning. Study it for yourself and if you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
We also offer the option to attend one of our Trust Seminars. Call us to register. There is no obligation.