Estate planning is undertaken to ensure that your family receives the property and personal belongings you leave behind. Even so, with probate a necessary part of the process, it may take time for your family to receive their inheritance.
When drafting an estate plan, it helps to understand how various tools distribute your assets to the intended recipients. If you believe your family may suffer a financial burden without a quick cash infusion, discover how you can craft a plan to get them that.
Joint accounts
When you have a bank account that you co-own with someone, the survivor assumes control of the account after your death. A joint account is one of the easiest ways to ensure that your family continues to have access to money. Since the joint account holder already owns the account’s contents, he or she continues to use it and its contents.
Trusts
You may want to consider setting up a trust to directly pass property or cash to others. There are different types of trust accounts, so finding the one that fits your needs and circumstances is essential. When you deposit property into the trust, that property no longer belongs to you and is instead held in the trust for the benefit of whomever you name as the trustee. Death is usually a condition that allows the trustee to assume control of the account. Trust accounts do not go through probate.
Your will and estate may have to travel through probate upon your death. Since probate takes time, you may want to consider an alternate way to get your the cash they may need quicker.