Bentonville Will Lawyer: Is a “Will” all you need to prevent Probate?

No.  You need more than a “Will” to prevent Probate.

Your Last Will and Testament is your map to how you want your estate (belongings – financial, real estate, and personal) to be distributed.  Your Personal Representative is in charge of following your wishes laid out in your Will.

If you don’t have your home, car, and accounts otherwise taken care of they are subject to Probate.  Even if they are mentioned in you Will, they have to go through the Probate process.

Probate takes at least 6 months to complete and more typically about 9 to 12 months for a basic Probate.

Depending on your situation you may be able to add some additional planning to your Will to avoid most if not all Probate.  Or you may need to add a Trust to your plan.

Rest easy knowing that your family won’t have to endure Probate when you properly plan.