Do I Need a Will to Leave Assets in My Bank Accounts?
Estate planning in Georgia is an important process for all adults, regardless of the amount or value of assets you own. While determining how to ensure that your loved ones inherit your property is a key component of estate planning, it is certainly not the only component. There are critical aspects of estate planning involving health care decision-making, as well as financial decision-making during your lifetime. As such, when you start to think about estate planning, it is important to have a general scope of the process and what to expect. Given that many people are thinking about inheritances and how to make sure that their property goes to spouses, children, or other loved ones, our Gwinnett County estate planning lawyers want to tell you more about your options for leaving liquid assets to your family and friends.
Designating Payable-On-Death Beneficiaries for Bank Accounts or Transfer-On-Death Beneficiaries for Investment Accounts in Georgia
You do not need to leave liquid assets — assets contained in your bank accounts — through a will. In fact, leaving these assets to beneficiaries in a will ultimately will mean that the assets must go through the probate process, and your beneficiaries may not inherit them for several months or longer. Rather than leaving liquid assets in a will, most assets held in bank accounts can pass to a beneficiary of your choosing quite easily through a payable-on-death beneficiary designation.
In short, you can name a payable-on-death beneficiary for your accounts — different beneficiaries for each account, or the same beneficiary for all of them — and that beneficiary will become the owner of the accounts upon your death. There will be no need for those assets to go through probate or any other additional processes before your beneficiary will become the owner of them.
Revocable Living Trust and Other Options Beyond a Will for Leaving Assets
Even if you have certain assets that are not held in bank accounts (and thus that cannot be left to a beneficiary through a payable-on-death designation), there are other ways of leaving assets beyond a will that can be helpful for your beneficiaries. Most importantly, you should consider a revocable living trust. This type of trust allows you to maintain control over the assets placed in the trust during your lifetime (unlike various types of revocable trusts), and it also allows your assets to pass to your named beneficiaries upon your death without going through probate.
While probate may be necessary for certain assets, it is always less complicated and faster for beneficiaries to inherit assets when they do not need to go through probate.
Contact a Norcross Estate Planning Attorney for Assistance
Wills are important for estate planning, but there are also many different types of estate planning tools that you can use to leave assets to your loved ones. An experienced Norcross estate planning lawyer at Bowman Law Firm can talk with you today to discuss your specific assets and different options for identifying beneficiaries and ensuring that your loved ones of your choosing can inherit your property. Contact our firm today for more information.
Source:
law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-53/
