Though your will is not public during your lifetime, after you die, it becomes public after it goes through a process called probate. In probate, a will is validated, the estate is inventoried, and the assets are distributed according to your wishes—and then, your will becomes a public record.

The Relationship Between Wills and Probate

A will is a legal document that contains your distribution plans for your assets: essentially, which person is getting what. After you die, this document will go through a process called probate. Through this system, the court will determine whether your will is valid and whether you had the right to leave your assets to your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:beneficiaries.

Probate creates an organized and systematic distribution of assets. Though state laws may vary, in general, the process follows these steps and is supervised by the Clerk of the Superior Court o🃏r an equivalent probate court:

• The executor files the will with the probate court.
• The executor gathers all assets subject to probate and inventories and accounts for them.
• The executor notifies financial institutions, life insurance policy issuers, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Social Security Administration, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the employer, creditors, and beneficiaries.
• The executor publishes a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:notice to creditor advertisement as mandated by local laws.
• The executor uses the assets to settle debts and taxes the decedent owes.
• Leftover assets are distributed to beneficiaries by the executor according to the will.
• The estate is closed by petition to the court from the executor after all creditors and beneficiaries are paid.

Estates Not Subject to Probate

There are exceptions to the requirement for probate if the deceased's assets are below a set dollar amount. The dollar amount varies greatly from state to state, from less than $3,000 in Alabama to less than $184,500 in California.

In most states, if the assets are under those limits (sometimes called a small estate), the family must file for a Voluntary Administrator proceeding which determines how the assets are distributed.

Wills and Public Record

Wills need to be accessible after the probate process is finished because someone (such as a creditor) missed during probate may have a claim on the estate. For this reason, probated wills become public records, which means anyone can show up at the courthouse and view them𓂃 in their entirety.

Once probate has been officially closed by the court, the will becomes a public record. Generally💞, anyone can go to the courthouse where it is filed, pay the required fee, and receive a copy of the will.

Avoiding Probate

Probate is commonly thought to be a long and painful process where the court system determines who gets what. However, the American Bar Association disagrees, stating that probate is rarely as bad as is commonly thought.

But if you feel you must avoid probate and don't want your assets and intentions made available to the public, you can create a trust that will bypass probate.

However, trusts can be complex and expensive. They aren't for everyone.

Living Trusts

A living trust is an instrument you can create to place specific assets in. You can name your beneficiaries and distribute your assets as you see fit without probate. Your designated trustee handles the trust's affairs and ensures all assets are distributed following your intentions.

Asset Protection Trusts

An 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:asset protection trust allows you to place assets you don't want to go to creditors. These trusts are generally irrevocable, meaning you can no longer access them once your assets are in them. They are also expensive to set up, so the assets placed in one should more than offset the cost of creating it.

Other Trusts

You can use many other 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:types of trusts to ꦯkeep specific assets out of the probate process and the public record. However, most people do not need to consider using trusts to bypass probate because they do not have estates large enough or assets that require privacy to warrant these expensive instruments.

The Bottom Line

Wills are private matters and not open to the public during the decedent's lifetime but may become public after the probate process. Though a trust bypasses probate and offers more privacy, setting one up and maintaining it can be a complicated and expensive process.