8 Ways to Avoid Probate

Did you know? If you plan carefully, your estate may not have to go through the process of probate. Probate can drag on for years, and can easily cost your family thousands of dollars--money that would otherwise have gone to them.



8 Ways to Avoid Probate offers simple and effective methods for skipping the probate process so that property goes directly to the intended beneficiaries. Using the simple, plain-English instructions, you'll learn how to create a savvy estate plan. Find out about:

setting up payable-on-death accounts

naming beneficiaries, including children, institutions, and multiple beneficiaries

naming beneficiaries for retirement accounts, vehicles, real estate, and stocks and bonds

special procedures for small estates

holding property in joint ownership, and alternatives to joint ownership

using a living trust to avoid probate

making gifts of property and money



This edition provides updates to estate and gift tax laws, updated 50-state tables on simplified probate, and additional information on how to bequeath real estate without probate--12 states now offer a special deed for just this purpose.