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Assets That Pass Outside of a Tennessee Probate

Nashville Blog 2017 February Assets That Pass Outside of a Tennessee Probate
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Assets That Pass Outside of a Tennessee Probate

Posted By David Whittaker, Attorney at Law || 8-Feb-2017

Some people are very familiar with the probate process, especially if they’ve dealt with it personally when a loved one passed away. Others on the other hand – are not familiar with probate at all. In fact, a lot of people have never heard the term “probate” before until someone close to them passed away.

If you’re one of those people who envisioned when your loved one passed away, all the heirs would gather in a room with the decedent’s attorney as he read the will, and then the lawyer would cut the heirs' checks after the meeting – that happens on TV and the movies – real life, not so much.

While you may definitely meet with a decedent’s estate planning lawyer if you’re a beneficiary to the estate, it would be unrealistic to expect the estate to be closed that quickly. Why? Because, most estates have to go through probate and it can take many months, if not a year or longer, for heirs to receive their inheritance.

What is Probate Exactly?

When someone dies in Tennessee, their estate has to go through probate. Probate is the court-supervised process where a will is validated, a personal representative (usually the person named in the will) is appointed to administer the estate, the decedent’s debts and taxes are paid, and then whatever assets remain are distributed to the beneficiaries.

Not all of a decedent’s assets are subject to probate. The only assets that go through probate are those that are in the decedent’s name alone, or assets without beneficiary designations.

These types of assets are NOT considered a part of the probate estate:

  • All property owned in joint tenancy, such as a home or a bank account. For instance, if two brothers were on a bank account and one died, the bank account would automatically pass to the surviving brother.
  • Property that’s held in tenancy by the entirety. For example, if a husband and wife owned a home and it was held in joint tenancy by both spouses, when the husband dies, the house would automatically transfer to his wife.
  • Life insurance with named beneficiaries. If a life insurance policy has named beneficiaries, that money would pass on to the beneficiaries automatically – it would not be subject to probate.
  • Payable-on-death bank accounts with beneficiary designations. The funds in these accounts pass directly to the beneficiary upon the death of the account holder.
  • Retirement accounts – these funds pass directly to beneficiaries.
  • Assets in a living trust – these assets pass to beneficiaries and are not delayed because of probate.

Probate can be a long, drawn-out process, especially for the more complicated estates. If you are ready to begin estate planning, you may prefer to organize your assets in such a manner so some of them pass outside of probate, and so your loved ones can receive those assets sooner than later.

To learn more about the strategic ways you can organize your assets to expedite probate, reduce legal fees, and help your loved ones – contact my Nashville estate planning firm today.

Categories: Inheritance, Probate, Probate Administration, Trusts, Estate Planning

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David Whittaker, Attorney at Law

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David Whittaker, Attorney at Law - Nashville Probate Attorney
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