How Can I Avoid Probate for my Real Estate Holdings?

If you own residential or commercial real estate, it’s important to make sure that, upon your passing, your property will be transferred to the beneficiaries of your choice without being held up in probate.

Why should I try to avoid probate?

There are four good reasons to ensure that, after your death, a probate won’t be required for your real estate: time, money, and privacy.

Time: In Illinois, a probate with the County Court takes a minimum of six months by law, and, for a complex estate, can drag on for years. Your real estate could be sitting unoccupied during that time while your beneficiaries wait to receive what you intended for them.

Money: You’ll need a lawyer to deal with your probate case. And between multiple court appearances, the drafting of required documents, and the correspondence with all necessary parties, even a simple probate matter can easily end up costing thousands of dollars.

Privacy: Probate records, which contain details about your property and your family, are public! Someone looking to commit fraud can gather personal information about you without anyone’s knowledge.

Risk: Probate is a judicial process. Even if you have a will, this means that your will has to be presented to and approved by the judge. It also means that other parties may contest the validity of that will. Fending off challenges can be very time consuming and expensive, even if your executor ultimately prevails.

How can I make sure to avoid that?

Here are some steps you can take to protect your real estate holdings from the need for probate:

Revocable Living Trusts: In Illinois, you can transfer, during your lifetime, your real estate holdings into a Trust. Upon your passing, your designated Trustee will follow your Trust’s directions, either transferring or selling your assetsso that your beneficiaries can receive what you left for them.

Transfer On Death Instruments (TODIs): Illinois allows Transfer On Death designations on real estate deeds. By naming a TOD beneficiary, your property will be transferred directly to them after your passing.

Limited Liability Companies (LLCs): For your commercial or investment real estate, you can title the property in an Illinois LLC. Your LLC interest then becomes an asset transferred via a beneficiary form, as opposed to probate. Additionally, an LLC can also create some protections from personal liability.

Joint Ownership: When you own property “jointly with right of survivorship” with another person, your interest in the property will automatically transfer to the other owner at your passing, without probate. Before choosing this option, make sure you speak with a lawyer about all of the implications of joint property ownership.

If you own real estate in Illinois, and want to learn more about how best to avoid probate, we invite you to call us at (773) 525-0153. We’re here to help create the best ownership and transfer strategies for your real estate, so you won’t spend unnecessary time, money, or privacy on probate.