Asset Protection

Mar 06, 2026

OUTCOME: Avoiding probate

A family needs to be aware of the legal pitfalls of not having a will, or worse yet, having a will. When a person passes away, their personal property, real property, cash, and cash equivalents beco ... me part of decedent’s “estate.” Most people think that if they have a will, they have a complete estate plan. Simply put, they are wrong! Probate is the process by which legal title to property is transferred from a decedent to their beneficiaries. Most states have a probate code that spells out the laws for litigating a person’s estate. The probate code sets an arbitrary total estate amount and if a person’s total estate amount exceeds the probate code amount, the estate must be probated. A typical threshold amount would be $75-100K. An attorney will charge 2% up to 15% of the value of the estate to complete the process of probate court. Furthermore, any information that goes through probate court becomes a matter of public record, and there is no expectation of privacy. Probate court has two forms of estates: Testate and Intestate. Testate is defined as a person who dies with a valid will. Intestate is defined as having died without a will or without providing legally binding instructions for the distribution of one’s property after his/her death. There are two aspects to estate planning that few people are aware of. An effective estate plan will be a marriage between asset protection and legal estate documents. • Asset Protection is the process of protecting one’s assets from lawsuits and lawyers. • Estate Planning is the process of transferring a decedent’s assets to the intended benefici