If you have a will, you may feel like the people you love are all set, and that is a completely reasonable thing to believe. Most people assume a will keeps their loved ones out of court. Here is the part that surprises almost everyone: a will is actually the document that sends an estate through the Virginia probate process. The encouraging news is that a few simple steps can do what a will alone cannot, and they are well within reach.

Let us clear up a few common beliefs.

Myth: A will avoids probate.

A will is really a set of instructions for a probate judge. Before anyone inherits, the court confirms the will, creditors get their window, and someone accounts for everything. That oversight is the whole point of probate, and it takes time.

Myth: Probate is quick if the will is simple.

Even a calm, uncontested estate often takes most of a year, and the file is public the whole time. A spouse who needs access to cash for the mortgage, for example, may find the accounts tied up while the court catches up.

Myth: Beneficiary forms are just paperwork.

In fact, those forms outrank the will. A transfer on death (TOD) setting on an investment account, or a payable on death (POD) setting on a bank account, sends that money straight to the person you named. No court, no waiting. Your loved one simply brings a death certificate and identification.

Myth: As long as the will is current, the beneficiary forms do not matter.

An outdated form quietly wins. If your will leaves everything to your daughter but an old account still names a former partner, that former partner generally receives it exactly as the beneficiary form reads.

Myth: Only the wealthy need to think about this.

Probate can slow things down for an estate of any size, simply because of how the accounts happen to be titled. The good part is that the fix is the same, no matter the size of the estate.

So what actually helps?

Plenty, and it is more approachable than people expect. Two tools do most of the work.

The first is a living trust. Assets you place in a trust pass directly to the people you choose without going through Virginia probate at all. Instead of leaving instructions for a judge, you leave them for the person you named to carry out, privately and usually much faster.

The second is proper beneficiary designations. As we saw above, TOD and POD settings, along with the beneficiary forms on retirement accounts and life insurance, move money straight to your loved ones outside of probate. The catch is that they only help if they are filled out, current, and consistent with the rest of your plan. (And if some of the people you love have four legs, a pet trust is how you make sure they are cared for, too, since a beloved cat or dog cannot be named on a beneficiary form.)

The real key is making these pieces work together. Your beneficiary designations, your deeds, and your will or trust should all point in the same direction, and they should get a quick look once a year. When they line up, they can spare your loved ones the slowest parts of probate. When they drift apart, they tend to create the very tangle you were hoping to spare everyone.

The bottom line

This is often easier to sort out than people expect, and it brings real peace of mind. If you are not sure what your accounts actually say, we would be glad to look them over with you and show you where your estate would really go. Give us a call at 703.424.9242 or schedule online here to get started.  We’re here for you.