HOW TO SAVE MONEY IN PROBATE

For most people, it’s seldom necessary to use a lawyer as the sole executor. Instead, the preferred course is to allow the non-lawyer (usually a family member) executor to do most of the work, which is gathering information and records. The family member files the required forms, figures and pays the taxes and distributes the estate assets. If he has any questions, he can consult the lawyer. He may also pay her to review final documents for legal accuracy or to do a few specific tasks that she can do best.

For some estates, this will take no more than a few hours of a lawyer’s time. It’s the single best way to save money in probate, but it does mean a tradeoff for the executor: his time for your estate’s money. Only you and your executor can decide whether the trade-off is worth it under the circumstances.

To save time for your executor, prepare your own inventory before you die. After you die, have your executor (if he’s a family member who’s waived a fee) do as much of the work as possible, such as preparing an updated inventory and notifying creditors

If you live in a state that assesses probate fees based on the value of the estate, it may be to your advantage to get property out of your estate, by use of a living trust, joint tenancy, gifts, and so on. This, along with setting your own financial affairs in order before you die, will also reduce the billable hours an attorney for the estate will have to charge.

KINDS OF PROBATE

• Supervised: The most formal and expensive method. The court plays an active role in approving each transaction. In states where it’s optional, supervised administration is used for contested estates, when an interested party requests it, or when the executor’s ability is questioned.

• Unsupervised or independent: A simpler, cheaper method in which the number of duties and procedures is reduced and the court’s role is diminished or eliminated. It’s used for estates that exceed the asset limit for small-estate administration (see below) but don’t require heavy court supervision. It often requires consent of all beneficiaries, unless the will specifically requests unsupervised administration.

• Small estate: The simplest and fastest probate, it’s not available in every state and where it is only for small estates, ranging from $1,000 to $100,000, depending on state law. Property is often transferred by affidavit. Small estate administration often lasts only a few weeks.