What Oregonians Need to Know
When you hear the word probate, where does your mind go? For many Oregonians, it usually goes to stressful places. But why? Do you really know what going through a probate entails or have you just heard horror stories?
I am a Central Oregon attorney that has been specializing in trusts, wills and probates for almost eight years and I want to provide some clarity for you in hopes that probate becomes a less intimidating prospect. I will do this by addressing common misconceptions about probate.
Everything you are about to read needs to be taken with a grain of salt because every family and estate is different and that means this discussion is in its nature a generalization. You should always seek legal counsel regarding your own specific situation. Also, this discussion assumes that there is no litigation involved in the administration of an estate (i.e., no one is trying to sue anyone).
Myth #1:
Probates take years to complete.
This is false for most probates. Probates can often be completed in about six to eight months on average.
Myth #2:
Probates will cost your estate tens of thousands of dollars.
This is usually not true, but the cost of a probate is something that cannot be ballparked without an attorney consultation because so much depends on the lawyer that is hired (and how much they bill per hour) and whether or not your personal representative (i.e., executor) will take the personal representative’s fee. If a personal representative’s fee is declined, then I would expect most probates to be completed for under $10k in costs and lawyer fees.
Myth #3:
Probates are way too complicated.
First off you should know that Oregon is a probate friendly state! Our probate laws are relatively straightforward compared to states like California. Plus, your personal representative will have professionals such as CPAs, financial advisors and lawyers handholding them through the whole process.
Myth #4:
Trusts always avoid probate.
The better way to put this would be, trusts TRY to avoid probate. Trusts that aren’t funded properly can result in a probate for your estate which means that your estate will go through the trust administration process AND probate.
Myth #5:
If my estate is probated, then my estate will have to pay taxes, if there is no probate, then my estate does not have to pay taxes.
This is another topic that really needs to be specifically addressed by an estate planning attorney but it is worth saying at least this: Generally, whether you have a will that is probated or a trust that tries to avoid probate, the taxes your estate may face after you die has more to do with how much value is in your estate and what kind of assets you owned at your death rather than whether you had a will or trust in place.
If these down and dirty myth busting answers have raised more questions than they have answered about probate, go talk with an attorney who specializes in probates so that you can make informed choices about your own estate plan! A lot of attorneys offer free or low-cost consultations, take advantage of that!
