- Tax Planning
- Investments 1: Before you Invest
- Investments 2: Your Investment Plan
- Investments 3: Securities Market Basics
- Investments 4: Bond Basics
- Investments 5: Stock Basics
- Investments 6: Mutual Fund Basics
- Investments 7: Building Your Portfolio
- Investments 8: Picking Financial Assets
- Investments 9: Portfolio Rebalancing and Reporting
- Retirement 1: Basics
- Retirement 2: Social Security
- Retirement 3: Employer Qualified Plans
- Retirement 4: Individual and Small Business Plans
- Estate Planning Basics
- Introduction
- Understand the Principles of Estate-Planning
- Understand the Importance of Estate Planning and the Goals of Estate Planning
- Understand the Estate-Planning Process
- Know How Trusts Can Be Used to Your Advantage in Estate Planning
- Understand the Importance of Wills and Probate Planning
- Summary
- Assignments
4. Avoid Probate if Desired, or Use Probate Strategically
Probate is the legal process by which an asset’s title is transferred after an individual’s death. One concern that many individuals have regarding probate is that the records of the assets, including information about who owns the assets, are open to public view. Anyone who reviews the public records gains access to the information.
Probate is not necessarily bad, and it is necessary to pass on an asset’s title. However, if it is important that information about ownership not be available to the public, advance planning and the use of various estate planning tools can be helpful in avoiding probate.
