How To Avoid Probate In South Dakota
Avoiding probate in South Dakota can save your loved ones time, money, and stress. Thankfully, there are several legal strategies you can take to avoid probate and transfer assets more efficiently to loved ones. Here's a breakdown of the most effective methods:
Create a Revocable Living Trust
By transferring ownership of your assets into a trust during your lifetime your assets in the trust are not part of your probate estate, so they pass directly to your beneficiaries. Keep in mind, you must fund the trust by retitling assets, like real estate, bank accounts, etc., in the name of the trust for those assets to be protected from probate.
Use Beneficiary Designations
Beneficiary designations, payable on death designations, and transfer on death designations all avoid probate. Bank accounts can be set up to transfer directly to a named beneficiary upon death. Likewise, investment accounts and securities can be designated to transfer automatically upon death as well.
South Dakota also allows transfer on death deeds for real estate, which take effect only upon death and then avoid probate.
Joint Ownership with Right of Survivorship
Joint Tenancy is property owned jointly with another person and automatically transfers to the surviving owner.
Life Estates
By definition, a life estate is where you retain the right to use a property during your lifetime, but it then automatically transfers to another person upon your death. This can help avoid probate and ensures a smooth transition. However, a downfall is that it limits your control over the property during your lifetime and life estates do not protect from nursing homes in South Dakota.
Understanding probate and ways to bypass the process can be overwhelming for families. At Legacy Law Firm our probate lawyers know how important it is to make sure things are handled efficiently and correctly. If you want to plan for your future and make sure your family doesn’t have to go through probate, give us a call to visit with an estate planning attorney out of Legacy Law Firm to ensure your plan is set up in the most tax efficient and effective manner.
Call today to schedule a free initial consultation, (605) 275-5665. To learn more go to Probates & Estates.
