I was recently giving a presentation to a large group of people, and I mentioned at the beginning that I would take questions maybe two or three times throughout the presentation. It was supposed to last an hour, and we were only a few minutes in when I started talking about probate. I mentioned that, on average, it takes one to two years for a probate case to be administered and closed out.
This gentleman in the front row raised his hand. I was thinking, “I need to say quite a bit more before we really get to the point where I’m taking on questions.” But he just kept raising his hand, and finally just left it there. So I thought, “Okay, I’m going to call on him.” I called on him, and he just says, “Four.”
I said, “Four what?”
He said, “Four years. We’ve been dealing with my dad’s probate for four years, and it’s far from over.” He turns around, looks at everybody in the room, and says, “If you can avoid probate, do it.”
He brought up a great point. I’ve talked to advisors, attorneys, and others in the financial and estate planning field, and they routinely tell me that they don’t talk to clients about avoiding probate. I think to myself, “If you’re not having that conversation with the client, there are probably other things you’re not discussing with them that are just as relevant.”
Ultimately, it’s the client’s decision. So why not talk to them about it and let them decide?
Another thing I’ve started asking attorneys and other advisors is, “When do you think it makes sense to avoid probate?” The problem is, I get an entire spectrum of answers. There’s no consensus. I haven’t gotten the same answer from any two people.
When I ask, “What would be the threshold amount of assets to make avoiding probate worthwhile?” no one gives me the same answer. So ultimately, it should be the client’s decision.
And I’ve yet to meet anybody who, after losing a loved one, goes around high-fiving everyone and saying, “Yes, I get to go through the probate process—that’s a dream come true!” No one’s ever said that. No one’s had a particularly great experience going through probate. If anything, I meet people who’ve had horrible experiences, especially when they’re already grieving the loss of a loved one.
Just know that probate is something that can be avoided. If your advisor or attorney isn’t talking to you about it, maybe it’s time to talk to a different advisor or attorney.