Estate Planning Information from Mike Walters: The Cost of Probate

This week Mike Walters, Entertainer’s trusted legal advisor, answers the question: what is the cost of probate?

Walters explained last week that probate is basically what happens to your stuff when you die. Once you die, your belongings are distributed, and the legal courts are responsible for completing this duty.

There are many problems with this process though. First, it takes a couple years to get settled in court which prolongs the distribution of one’s assets. Then it may freeze the assets if they are not valid, causing an issue with the heirs of those assets. Furthermore everything is made public, such as personal background information, who got what and for how much, etc. But most importantly, it is a very expensive process.

According to Walters, you can find out how much your probate fees would be based on your gross asset value. The gross value is the total value of property a person owns.

Since minimum probate fees are really high, Walters advises setting up a proper estate plan. Why? If you have an estate plan, then you will not have to pay any fees for probate. What an easy way out, right?

Estate planning is the smart and right way to go when it comes to protecting your valuable assets. At Walters and Wards they can help to ensure that your estate will not go under probate and that you will be fully covered.

For more information on Wills and Trusts or estate planning, visit www.walterstrustinfo.com. Walters and Ward has over 20 locations throughout Southern California, and holds free workshops on Wills and Trusts. These workshops do have limited space, but you can sign up online or call 1-877-779-9729 to reserve space at one of the upcoming workshops.