Unknown Probate

Who will have the unknown probate administration? The couple who owns real estate, has minor children, and doesn’t have a trust. Read that again.

Think about what would happen. If Mom and Dad left for date night and never returned home, someone would need to sell the house. Children under 18 cannot own real estate.

After the real estate is sold, where are the proceeds going to go after the mortgage is paid off? If there is no trust,  those proceeds will be paid to the guardian of the estate of the minor children. They don’t automatically go to the person who has custody of the children. Legal custody of a child does not give any authority to deal with that person’s finances.

If there is a trust, the provisions of the trust would allow your executor to pay the proceeds from the sale of the home to a successor trustee of a trust. That trustee will then have the authority to invest the home sale proceeds.  When your children need to use those funds, the balance will have grown to a sizable amount.

Without a trust, the aunt or uncle is going to need to apply to be guardian of the estate of the minor. This means that they will have to apply for each and every expenditure to be paid on the minor’s behalf. This is less than ideal.

If you have young children and want to be sure you avoid the unknown probate, it’s time to discuss a trust based plan today.