An Effective Strategy to Avoid Probate
Greetings, I’m Oklahoma attorney Meg Prestidge, and I have been having a few topics on the question that I get frequently asked, how can I avoid probate? This is generally as a result of you watching a loved one or a friend or colleague having to probate in a state and see that it’s long, drawn out, contentious, and you want to try to avoid that with your loved ones.
So we’ve talked about the joint tenancy warranty deed, the life estate, the transfer on death deed, the trust. And one of the other ways that you can avoid probate is what is known as gifting. And you can gift your property. It’ll be limited per person to the current gifting limits without having to pay gift tax. And that would be a question for your CPA.
But you can actually gift your property during your lifetime. The only problem that I would see with that is that you want to make sure that it’s property that you no longer care if you have ownership in or not. But gifting is an excellent way to avoid probate. It’s just a personal choice on that because, again, remember, after you gift that, you’re no longer going to have control of that property.
Considering Gifting as an Option
If you are concerned about your assets going through the probate process and want to explore options to avoid it, gifting can be a viable solution. By transferring ownership of your property to someone else, you can potentially bypass probate altogether.
However, it’s important to consider the implications of gifting. Once you have gifted a property, you no longer have control over it. Therefore, it’s crucial to only gift property that you are comfortable relinquishing ownership of. This decision should be made after careful consideration and consultation with professionals, such as your CPA.
Contact Me for Further Discussions
If you would like to find out more about gifting as a way to avoid probate or have any other questions regarding estate planning, I invite you to contact me at www.oklahomawillsandtrust.com. I am dedicated to assisting individuals like you in safeguarding their assets and ensuring a smooth transition for their loved ones.
Thank you for your time, and I hope you have a great day.