One of the primary goals of estate planning for many people is avoiding probate. It can be a long, stressful, potentially costly process for loved ones. It also makes the details of your estate public to anyone who wants to see them.
There are numerous ways to pass on your assets to heirs and other beneficiaries directly and apart from the probate process. Placing titled assets like your home in a revocable living trust is one way.
A multitude of steps to help bypass probate
There are steps you can take outside of your estate plan itself that help assets pass smoothly to others. You can add your intended beneficiaries to accounts and property with payable-on-death (POD), transfer-on-death (TOD) and similar designations. In some cases, you may want to include a loved one as a joint owner. On accounts where you can designate beneficiaries, like investment and retirement accounts, all you have to do is name those you want to receive them after you’re gone.
Some people are conscientious about taking these steps, but either forget about or never get around to dealing with assets they have in another state. If you’re one of the many people who has moved to Atlanta from elsewhere in the country, you may still have assets either located or registered in another state.
Whether it’s a condo you kept and “rent” to an adult child, a boat that’s docked along the coast, a share of a business or even a bank account you haven’t yet closed, these assets will need to be dealt with after you die. If they have to go through probate, it’s a separate process called “ancillary probate.” (Probate in the state where a person lived is called “domiciliary probate.”)
What if you leave out-of-state assets behind?
If you choose to keep your out-of-state assets rather than sell or move them, you can largely avoid ancillary probate in the same way you can avoid domiciliary probate. However, say you never get around to selling that condo or boat. The good news is that as long as your estate plan is accepted by a probate court here in Georgia, it’s likely that it will be accepted by a probate court in another state.
It’s wise to ensure that your chosen personal representative (executor) is aware of any out-of-state assets they’ll need to deal with and that they’re covered in your estate plan. It’s important to discuss these assets and how best to address them with an experienced estate planning professional.