"Shelley didn't understand the length of probate"

What Shelley wanted was a simple and inexpensive transfer process. Instead, the probate process dragged for over a year and during this time her family had difficulty accessing her property.

Definition: Probate is the legal process of changing ownership from the deceased to the beneficiaries. Probate requires notification to all creditors of assets available to satisfy any debts outstanding before beneficiaries receive any part of the estate.

"Shelley wasn't aware of the cost of probate" Because probate is a court procedure there are attorney fees and court costs. The cost to Shelley's estate can easily cost between 3% and 10% her estate's value. "How could Shelley have planned better?" She could have titled individual assets properly and/or created a Revocable Living Trust in addition to a Will. "Did Shelley have to be wealthy to have a Revocable Living Trust?" Shelley didn't consider a Revocable Living Trust because she didn't think she was wealthy enough to warrant exploring the options. In Arizona, estates over $150,000 very often require probate, subjecting family members to the costly and lengthy process. Shelley's home alone was worth over $150,000. People in Shelley's situation are quite common in Arizona. The demand for estate plans with the functionality associated with a Living Trust has grown for many families without a plan in place. A good plan makes the management of family affairs easy.

Shelley's estate passed with some difficulties that could have been easily and inexpensively avoided.

Shelley's twin sister, Shirley, had a Will with similar estate transfer problems and the added trouble of her four children disputed the terms of her Will.

All four children spent great sums on attorney fees trying to resolve the terms of her Will. An attorney representing the estate consumed a large portion of the estate's value in attorney fees defending the terms of the Will.

When all was said and one, there was little left of the estate and the four children were bitter and financially worse off because of their individual legal fees.

If Shirley had a Revocable Living Trust, the trust's No Contest Clause would have disqualified any beneficiary disputing the trust's instructions from receiving any portion of the trust's estate, greatly reducing the likelihood of any contests.