5 Steps Your Family Needs to Take Now

Nobody wants to leave their family dealing with months of court proceedings, attorney fees, and public records when they're already grieving. That's exactly what happens when your assets go through probate in Ohio – a lengthy legal process that can drain both your family's energy and your estate's value.

The good news? With some smart planning now, you can help your loved ones avoid most (or all) of this headache. Here are five concrete steps you can take today to keep your family out of probate court tomorrow.

Why Avoiding Probate Matters for Ohio Families

Before we dive into the how-to, let's talk about why this matters. Probate in Ohio typically takes 6-12 months, sometimes longer for complicated estates. During that time, your family can't access most of your assets, everything becomes public record, and court fees, expenses of administration, plus attorney costs can easily eat up 3-7% of your estate's value.

More importantly, probate adds stress during an already difficult time. Your spouse might not be able to access accounts, your kids can't sell the family home to pay bills, and everyone has to wait for a judge's approval for basic financial decisions.

Step 1: Create a Revocable Living Trust

This is your power play – the most effective way to avoid probate in Ohio. A revocable living trust is a bit like creating a separate legal "person" that owns your stuff instead of you owning it directly.

Here's how it works: You set up the trust, transfer your assets into it, and serve as the trustee (meaning you still control everything). When you pass away, your chosen successor trustee steps in and distributes everything according to your instructions – no court involvement needed.

The beauty of a revocable trust is that it doesn't change your daily life at all. You can still buy, sell, and manage your assets exactly as before. You can even change or cancel the trust anytime you want. But when you're gone, your family gets immediate access to what they need without waiting for probate court.

What goes in your trust? Almost everything – typically your house, rental properties, business interests, bank accounts, tangible personal property, investment accounts, ect. Anything you put in the trust will not go through probate.

Step 2: Actually Fund Your Trust (This Step Trips Up Everyone)

Creating a trust is only half the battle. You have to actually move your assets into it – lawyers call this "funding" the trust. This is where most people stumble, and it's the difference between a plan that works and one that fails your family.

Think of it like this. If you have dogs, you might have a fenced in back yard. So if you let your dogs out the front door, they will run all over the neighborhood (at least mine will). However, if you let your dogs out the back door, they will be controlled by your fence. A trust is like that fence, it can only control what it contains.

Step 3: Use Joint Ownership Strategically

Joint ownership with "rights of survivorship" is probate avoidance made simple. When you own something jointly with another person (usually your spouse), the survivor automatically gets full ownership when one of you dies. No probate required.

This works great for:

• Your family home
• Joint bank accounts
• Cars (though Ohio has specific rules about vehicle titles)

Important caveat: Only use joint ownership with people you completely trust. Your joint owner gets immediate access to the asset and can potentially spend, sell, or lose it. For most married couples, this works perfectly. For other relationships, proceed carefully.

Also, the last one to pass away inherits the entire asset. If you want to ensure that your heirs inherit your share, this might not be the best plan for you.

Finally, remember that joint ownership might create tax complications or expose assets to the other person's creditors. It's simple, but it's not always the best choice for every situation.

Step 4: Set Up Transfer-on-Death and Payable-on-Death Designations

Ohio makes it relatively easy to designate beneficiaries for certain assets, allowing them to transfer directly without probate. These are some of the most underutilized tools in estate planning.

Transfer-on-Death (TOD) designations work for:

• Real estate
• Investment accounts
• Vehicles

Payable-on-Death (POD) designations work for:

• Bank accounts
• Savings bonds
• CDs

Setting these up is usually straightforward – you fill out a form with your bank, credit union, or agent, naming who should receive the asset when you die. The beneficiary has no rights to the asset while you're alive, but gets automatic ownership when you pass away.

Pro tip: Keep these designations current. Life changes – people get married, divorced, have kids, or pass away before you do. Review your beneficiary designations every few years and after major life events.

Step 5: Name Beneficiaries on Everything That Allows It

This might seem obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people forget to name beneficiaries or keep them updated. Any asset with a beneficiary designation typically avoids probate entirely.

Double-check beneficiaries on:

• Life insurance policies
• Retirement accounts (401k, IRA, etc.)
• Annuities
• Investment accounts that allow beneficiary designations

Here's what many people don't realize: beneficiary designations override your will. If your will says your retirement account goes to your kids, but the account itself names your former best friend as beneficiary, guess who gets the money? Not your kids.

Naming contingent beneficiaries: Always name backup beneficiaries in case your first choice can't or won't inherit. This prevents the asset from falling into probate if your primary beneficiary dies before you do.

When Professional Help Makes Sense

While some of these steps are DIY-friendly, others benefit from professional guidance. Estate planning involves more than just avoiding probate – you also want to minimize taxes, protect assets, plan for long term care and ensure your plan actually works when your family needs it, and a qualified estate planning attorney can help you do just that.

The Bottom Line: Start Now, Adjust Later

Perfect estate planning doesn't exist, but good planning beats no planning every single time. Start with what makes sense for your situation today, knowing you can always adjust your plan as life changes.

The families who successfully avoid probate aren't necessarily the wealthiest or most sophisticated – they're just the ones who took action while they could. Your family will thank you for taking these steps now, rather than leaving them to figure it out later.

Remember, avoiding probate isn't just about saving money (though it absolutely does that). It's about giving your family privacy, access to assets, and one less thing to worry about during a difficult time. That peace of mind? Priceless.

If you're ready to start protecting your family from probate complications, contact our office to discuss which strategies make the most sense for your unique situation. We're here to help you create a plan that actually works when your family needs it most.