CRITICAL ESTATE PLAN SITUATIONS THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE OF
• Are you aware that when you die without a properly executed trust, the costs of transferring everything you have worked for, that you intend to go your heirs, can cost thousands of dollars and take years as it goes through a process called probate?
• Are you aware that if you do not properly designate who will inherit everything after your death, the State of California will make that decision for you?
• Are you aware that if you have not made plans, a Judge of the Superior Court – without any input from you – will decide who will raise your minor children?
• Are you aware that without the proper documents, if you become incompetent, it may cost your family thousands of dollars just to have the right to take care of you and to direct your medical care?
• Are you aware that “Joint Tenancy,” the way in which many married couples hold property, does not avoid probate upon the death of the surviving joint tenant?
• Are you aware that holding title to property as “Joint Tenants” may cost you thousands of dollars in capital gains taxes if the property is sold following the death of the first to die?
• Are you aware that if you have a trust that was prepared before 2004, critical parts of your estate plan may not work?
AVOID THE HIGH COST OF PROBATE
Probate is necessary when an individual dies without the proper estate planning documents and his/her assets exceed $150,000. The cost for probating an estate is based on the estate’s gross asset value, which generally means including all that you own, but nothing that you owe. For example, if you own a home worth $800,000 with a $790,000 mortgage, the gross asset value is $800,000.
This chart shows the compensation that your personal representative and attorneys can ask for as set by Wisconsin law relative to the estate’s gross asset value. These fees do not include special fees for the sale of assets, filing fees, tax preparation, and litigation.
