How to avoid probate on bank and investment accounts.
Attorney Tom Olsen: We're all about helping people here at the Olsen Law Group with getting your estate planning done to make things simple, easy, inexpensive for their children when they pass away to get their affairs in order. Now that requires that Olsen Law Group do some work, but quite honestly folks, when we do your estate planning for you, we're going to give you a list of your own homework to do. You might say, “Tom, I don't want to work.” Well, if you want to make things simple, easy, inexpensive for your children when you pass away, which most people do, there is some homework that's going to require that you do for us.
You say, “Tom, what's it going to be?” One simple thing is to avoid probate, is to make your bank accounts POD, payable on death to your adult children. We as lawyers, we can't do that for you. You don't do that in your will. You don't do that on your power of attorney. You the client have to go down to the bank, or the credit union, or the investment company, or go online and fill out a form to make your bank accounts POD, payable on death to your kids as a tool to avoid probate.
Attorney Chris Merrill: Correct.
Tom: We know that people want to avoid probate because it's expensive and it takes a long time. If you make your bank accounts POD for your kids and you pass away, the only thing they need to do is show the bank or credit union or investment company your death certificate and they will turn the money over to your kids. If you've got three kids, it is not the first one down there to show a death certificate gets all the money. No, any one of your kids can show the death certificate to the bank and they'll write three separate checks to your three kids.
What are we talking about? Number one, easy, number two, inexpensive, and number three, you're going to keep your kids from arguing and fighting with each other, okay?
Chris: Absolutely.
Tom: What could be more simple than each one of them gets a check in the mail? Now if you say, “Well, Tom, that doesn't mean much to me. I'll just let my that bank account go through probate.” Well, you got the expense of probate fees. You got the time to layer probate fees and you got the opportunity for your kids to settle up old grudges. How often do we get phone calls that go like this? “Tom, my mom passed away a year ago. She did not take steps to avoid probate. She named my brother to be the executor. Nothing's happening. I haven't gotten any of the money. I don't know what's going on. He won't talk to me. What am I going to have to do?”
Unfortunately, you're going to have to hire your own lawyer and figure out what's going on and why this delay is.
Chris: Absolutely.
Tom: Now we're talking about conflicts between siblings for them not doing their work, their job. That's what we're trying to--
Chris: We're trying to help families to avoid that conflict as much as possible.
Tom: On bank accounts, it is just that simple and that is making them POD, payable in death to your kids.