Wills and Probate To Safeguard Your Heirs

Perhaps most people realize the importance of having a will so that you Don’t Leave A Mess for your Loved Ones.

Upon your death, your loved ones will be grieving your loss. Don’t make the process more difficult by failing to properly plan for your death. There are some important things to avoid in order to ensure your final wishes are met and to make the process smoother for your loved ones.

The link above describes what is involved.

However the will along may not be sufficient as revealed in the story of How Earl Jones, the Montreal Ponzi schemer, found his clients.

Court records reveal that in the summer of 1986, a cancer-stricken nurse named Dianne Creaser signed a will in a weak, barely legible scratch, appointing businessman Earl Jones as one of the executors of her estate. After her death, although Ms. Creaser had named her ex-husband as another executor of her estate, Mr. Jones went to the Montreal courthouse two months later to get a probate hearing confirming him as the sole person who would handle her assets.

That is why it is so important to understand what probate is and the steps involved in the probate process.

Probate is the legal process of distributing your assets according to your wishes, which includes determining the validity of your will, gathering your assets, paying your debts and taxes and then distributing the remaining assets according to your last will. To get the process started Your Personal Representative, the Executor, will submit your will to probate court to have it validated. The main advantage of probate is that the probate court is supervising the entire proceedings, and the probate laws are being followed.

The Probate Process arranges that any debts you owe, including taxes are paid. Thereafter it ensures that assets are transferred to your beneficiaries, as per your will.

The probate court oversees the following:

• Swearing in your Executor
• Notifying heirs, creditors, and the public that you are, indeed, dead
• Inventorying your property
• Distributing your estate

The length of probate will depend on the complexity and size of your estate. On average, the probate process can take between 1-2 years if there are no complications. However in some cases it goes on for decades. Given this, it is worth studying exactly what will be involved and arranging that the appropriate steps have been taken to safeguard the best interests of your heirs.