Probate is the legal process following a person’s death. It is supervised by California Superior Court, which oversees a personal representative as they identify, locate, value, and distribute a deceased person’s assets to beneficiaries named in a will. However, if there is no will, state laws determine heirs, beginning with a spouse and children. The process can be expensive and public, so some people may wish to avoid it.
You will not avoid probate by failing to adopt a will. The unintended consequences of dying intestate involve estranged family members receiving your assets when that was not your intention. To understand how to avoid probate in Covina, our seasoned lawyers will strategize with you and devise a plan that meets your unique situation. Call Amity Law Group today to speak with an experienced probate attorney.
Primary Ways to Avoid Probate
Many Covina residents prefer to avoid probate because it is complicated, involves court hearings, can be expensive, is public, and family members and other beneficiaries can wait up to two years in some cases for probate to conclude. Some common ways to avoid probate include the following:
- Real estate can be titled in joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS)
- Add a beneficiary to retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and a pay on death beneficiary to financial accounts
- Adopt a living trust
- Irrevocable trusts own assets deposited into them and can be a tax benefit, with assets distributed outside of probate after death
- Prepare and record the transfer of death deeds
- Take advantage of the federal gift amount to transfer property prior to death, avoiding taxes
Some ways to circumvent probate are more common than others, such as naming a beneficiary to a retirement account and purchasing a marital home in both spouses’ names. In these cases, the home is owned solely by the surviving spouse after the other spouse dies, and probate is not an issue.
Some suggestions need to be explained more fully. Our estate planning attorneys have answers to questions, whether from beneficiaries, those wishing to draft a will or conduct more extensive estate planning, or those who want to learn how to avoid probate in Covina.
Some Answers to Less Obvious Questions
Disbursing assets during one’s lifetime can help avoid taxes and probate because they are gifted before death. In 2025, individuals can give up to $19,000 each to as many loved ones as they choose, and married couples can double that amount to $38,000.
Living trusts, also called revocable trusts, are the most often used estate planning tactic to avoid probate. These trusts can be amended or revoked during the grantor’s lifetime but become irrevocable upon death. The grantor is the trustee and can benefit from the trust income. Beneficiaries and a successor trustee are named, and assets transfer outside of probate when the grantor dies.
Transfer on death deeds allow the grantor to transfer real property to future beneficiaries, although they control the property until they die. These deeds are another way to circumvent probate in Covina because the grantor’s rights to the property die with them, and the beneficiaries are recognized as the legal owners.
Avoid Probate in Covina With An Attorney’s Help
There are many legal ways to avoid probate in Covina. There is even an abbreviated process if your estate is valued at less than $184,500. There are many reasons to avoid probate, which can be expensive and public. Also, there is a long wait time before your beneficiaries receive your gifts.
Our lawyers could evaluate your situation and determine how you can enjoy the assets you have amassed during your lifetime now and bequeath them to heirs and beneficiaries outside of probate. We offer a wide range of estate planning services, many of which target avoiding probate. Call now and see what we can do for you.
