[0:01] Welcome to the Legacy Conversation.
[0:06] Welcome back to the Legacy Conversation with Jennifer Moore.
[0:09] Jennifer is the owner of Springs Legacy Law PLLC,
[0:14] where she helps individuals and families in Colorado
[0:17] create clear practical estate plans
[0:19] and navigate probate with confidence.
[0:21] I'm Lisa Mosbey, and today we're breaking down how
[0:24] probate actually works in Colorado,
[0:27] what the process looks like, and when it can be avoided.
[0:30] Welcome back, Jennifer. Thanks for joining me again.
[0:33] Hi, Lisa. Thank you so much.
[0:35] Jennifer, let's start with what is probate
[0:38] and what purpose does it serve in Colorado?
[0:41] So probate happens in Colorado.
[0:43] If somebody leaves a will,
[0:45] it will go through the process of probate.
[0:48] And even if somebody dies without a will
[0:51] or without a trust,
[0:53] if they own real property,
[0:55] their estate, which is all of their stuff,
[0:58] will still go through the probate process.
[1:00] I think you knew my next question,
[1:02] and that is what types of assets go through probate
[1:05] and what types pass outside of it.
[1:08] I heard you say house,
[1:09] but are there others?
[1:10] Yeah, that's a great question.
[1:12] So houses real property will pass through probate
[1:18] unless it is held in a trust.
[1:21] So I'm just going to set trust aside
[1:26] for purposes of this conversation.
[1:28] So if you own a house or several houses,
[1:31] that will all pass through the probate process.
[1:34] If you have any type of financial accounts,
[1:39] and you either did not name a beneficiary on them
[1:43] when you set up the account,
[1:46] or if that beneficiary has pre-deceased you,
[1:49] it will also go through the probate process.
[1:52] And I think we should maybe walk through what that looks like.
[1:55] What does the probate process look like
[1:57] from beginning to closing of an estate?
[2:00] Absolutely.
[2:01] So to kind of start off with what is probate?
[2:04] So probate is where a judge either looks at a will
[2:08] to make sure that it's valid
[2:10] or looks at the state laws to determine
[2:14] who should get what if somebody dies without a will.
[2:18] And the judge will either appoint the person
[2:22] that you named in your will,
[2:24] or the person that's deceased named in their will,
[2:27] to manage everything,
[2:29] or if somebody died without a will,
[2:32] they will appoint a family member,
[2:35] usually a close friend,
[2:37] to manage all of their assets through the probate process.
[2:42] So a lot of probate,
[2:44] I kind of joke that it's hurry up and wait
[2:47] at the outside of probate,
[2:49] so somebody has died.
[2:51] Family should always take time to grieve
[2:54] before they start dealing with this process.
[2:57] And then the will will be filed with the court
[3:00] or lodged with the court.
[3:02] And there's a whole bunch of pleadings at the beginning
[3:06] of probate that need to be filled out.
[3:09] So those pleadings are prepared and they're basically
[3:12] this is who was named to be the personal representative
[3:16] or executor in the will.
[3:18] Or there wasn't a will,
[3:20] this is a person that should be the personal representative
[3:23] or executor and this is why.
[3:25] You turn that all into a judge,
[3:27] you wait for a while,
[3:29] and then the judge will get back and either approve,
[3:33] yes, the person that was nominated
[3:36] gets to be in charge of the probate,
[3:38] the personal representative or executor,
[3:40] in which case they're executed letters,
[3:43] testimentary,
[3:45] or we need to pick somebody else,
[3:47] it's a better choice.
[3:49] Generally letters will be issued
[3:52] because you kind of have proven why the person is a good choice.
[3:57] And at that point,
[3:59] the person who is the executor or personal representative
[4:03] kind of puts their conductor hat on
[4:05] and they get to manage the estate.
[4:07] So what does that mean?
[4:08] They will pay all of the bills,
[4:12] final taxes, things like that,
[4:14] of the deceitant or the person that's died.
[4:18] And they will distribute assets
[4:22] according to the terms of the will
[4:24] or if there wasn't a will,
[4:26] according to the terms of the laws of the state
[4:28] in which the person died.
[4:30] So probate is basically the process of
[4:34] dumping everything in the pot
[4:36] and then distributing everything
[4:38] to the people that should receive
[4:40] the deceitants,
[4:42] belongings,
[4:44] assets, things like that.
[4:46] And I know there's no one-size-fits-all
[4:48] but how long does probate take in Colorado
[4:50] and does the court system help move the process along
[4:54] to speed it up?
[4:56] So that is,
[4:58] I've answered this question so many times
[5:00] and it's never really an easy answer.
[5:02] I kind of joke that it depends
[5:06] as the attorney's favorite answer
[5:08] and it does depend
[5:10] because if everything is really straightforward,
[5:14] it should go pretty smoothly.
[5:16] It's still probably going to take
[5:18] eight months to a year,
[5:20] closer to a year,
[5:22] to complete handling probate.
[5:26] And then there are kind of situations
[5:29] where everything runs amok.
[5:32] There's a child
[5:34] that the person didn't know about
[5:36] and the family members know about
[5:38] or they thought they paid all their bills
[5:40] but it turns out they owed all these creditors.
[5:42] There's so many things that can come
[5:44] out of left field and kind of
[5:46] throw probates off track
[5:48] which can lead
[5:50] to probates lasting for years
[5:52] depending upon how much the court has to
[5:56] intervene and decide
[5:58] what goes where.
[6:00] And that's not the court's fault.
[6:02] It's just that there's a lot of reasons
[6:04] that pop up that
[6:06] we're perhaps
[6:08] perhaps unanticipated
[6:10] that you know take more time to handle
[6:12] on the probate process.
[6:14] And Jennifer, what costs
[6:16] are typical involved in probate?
[6:18] Sure, so
[6:20] if you choose to hire an attorney
[6:22] which am biased
[6:24] but you probably should
[6:26] choose to have an attorney help you out,
[6:28] there's
[6:30] those legal fees,
[6:32] attorneys, you know,
[6:34] charge hundreds of dollars an hour
[6:36] and then there's the filing fee
[6:38] just to start the probate
[6:40] and that's around
[6:42] $255,275 just
[6:44] to get the probate started
[6:46] and then there's
[6:49] publication fees.
[6:51] So that's another few hundred dollars.
[6:53] So if you decide
[6:55] I'm going to do this by myself
[6:57] and it goes smoothly
[6:59] we'll say
[7:01] that probate
[7:03] maybe $500.
[7:05] If you have
[7:07] like a vanilla easy probate
[7:09] and you hire an attorney
[7:11] $3,000 to $5,000
[7:13] probably
[7:15] and if you have the messy one
[7:18] who knows
[7:20] it really just depends on
[7:22] how messy it is.
[7:24] I guess, you know, how many hours
[7:26] your attorney has to put in
[7:28] to sort out knots
[7:30] and also kind of like to say
[7:32] that's a really good reason
[7:34] to hire an attorney at the outset
[7:36] because a lot of times
[7:38] people will look at the paperwork
[7:40] okay, I think I can figure this out
[7:42] they'll miss a deadline
[7:44] and then it costs so much more
[7:46] to hire an attorney to straighten out knots
[7:48] that, you know, never should have been created.
[7:50] So I have this horrible nightmare
[7:52] of thinking that
[7:54] cases that go through probate
[7:56] will end up at zero.
[7:58] You know, every piece of
[8:00] every dollar in the account
[8:02] and it's over, we closed it
[8:04] and it's at zero. Nobody gets anything
[8:06] because we've burned it all up and expenses.
[8:08] Do you ever see that happening?
[8:10] I have not ever seen that happen
[8:12] but I have seen probates
[8:14] that cost, you know, $100,000.
[8:16] Happily none that I've been part of
[8:18] but in law firms
[8:20] that I've worked for where
[8:22] generally it's, you know,
[8:24] relatives who are fighting over every single thing
[8:26] and everybody's loyering up
[8:28] because they are not agreeing
[8:30] or there are multiple
[8:32] copies of a will
[8:34] and ways like that
[8:36] where it can get really messy and expensive
[8:38] but I think it kind of comes back
[8:40] to the importance of a good estate plan.
[8:42] You know, if you have a well
[8:44] clearly executed document
[8:46] you're going to save fees
[8:48] on after you've passed away
[8:50] because it will just be an easy
[8:52] and easy peasy
[8:54] or as close, you know, as close
[8:56] as you can come to ensuring that
[8:58] we'll be an easy peasy process
[9:00] where you open the probate
[9:02] the will is good
[9:04] and then you close the probate
[9:06] a year later
[9:08] because everything was just
[9:10] straightforward and easy to understand.
[9:12] So that's the goal.
[9:14] So what role does the executor play
[9:16] throughout this whole process?
[9:18] They have to commit a year of their life
[9:20] and maybe longer
[9:22] to walk through this
[9:24] on your behalf.
[9:26] What role does the executor play?
[9:28] Yeah, it's a big job.
[9:30] They pretty much
[9:32] step into your shoes
[9:34] and they collect all of your assets
[9:38] pay all of your bills
[9:40] pay your final taxes
[9:42] get rid of all your stuff
[9:46] or whether that is
[9:48] to people that want it,
[9:50] your children,
[9:52] whoever want it
[9:54] or whether it is, you know,
[9:56] organizing and having an estate sale
[9:58] they're in charge of doing all of that
[10:00] corralling all the assets,
[10:02] liquidating them
[10:04] if need be
[10:06] and then distributing them.
[10:09] So yeah, it can be
[10:11] a lot of time.
[10:13] The good news for executors
[10:15] is that you can pay yourself
[10:17] for your time.
[10:19] So it's not just necessarily a freebie job.
[10:23] But it is a lot of work.
[10:25] And
[10:27] when you're creating your estate playing
[10:29] consider that.
[10:31] It's not a gift you're giving somebody
[10:33] and it also needs to be somebody
[10:35] that's really
[10:37] responsible that you would trust to handle
[10:39] these types of things.
[10:41] Especially since you mentioned
[10:43] there are deadlines and those deadlines
[10:45] that are required to have an attorney
[10:47] help you out with, you know,
[10:49] what tends to cause delays or complications
[10:51] during the probate process?
[10:53] I have one right now.
[10:55] I mean, this is so weird.
[10:57] But the well was taken by somebody
[10:59] on the original sign copy of the well
[11:01] was taken by somebody
[11:03] who is now on the lamb
[11:05] and is refusing to turn
[11:07] over the copy of the well.
[11:09] So there's a delay there
[11:11] because we know there's a well
[11:13] required to turn over to the court
[11:15] because it got stolen.
[11:17] There's other situations.
[11:19] I had a client
[11:23] where the decedent was very,
[11:25] very well off, very,
[11:27] very generous
[11:29] and was kind of like a micro donor
[11:33] in life and he wanted to continue
[11:35] that through
[11:37] his legacy.
[11:39] So he had left everything
[11:41] to beneficiaries in Africa,
[11:45] in India,
[11:47] in Nicaragua,
[11:49] and tracking them all down
[11:51] and sending even $10,000
[11:53] which is kind of an easy thing
[11:57] to do in the States.
[11:59] But to somebody that doesn't even have an address
[12:01] let alone a bank account,
[12:03] figuring out how to send those $10,000
[12:05] to every single different
[12:07] beneficiary.
[12:09] And that took several years
[12:11] to accomplish.
[12:13] Things like
[12:15] creditors just coming out
[12:17] of the woodwork.
[12:19] You know, they had
[12:21] eight zillion credit cards,
[12:23] all with balances
[12:25] that can take a really long time.
[12:27] Surprise children can take a really long time,
[12:29] fighting children.
[12:31] I always say,
[12:33] you know,
[12:35] probably not with a surprise child,
[12:37] but with numbers.
[12:39] It's so much cheaper
[12:41] to talk to each other
[12:43] than to pay me
[12:45] and have them pay their attorney
[12:47] to duke it out,
[12:49] like just talk to each other, you know.
[12:51] So those are ways
[12:53] that can prolong a probate
[12:55] and make it really expensive.
[12:57] And are there any options
[12:59] available for avoiding probate
[13:01] and in what situations
[13:03] do these options actually make sense?
[13:05] A really popular option
[13:07] is a revocable living trust.
[13:11] This is where you put all
[13:13] of your assets into that trust.
[13:15] And then you'll avoid probate.
[13:19] If it's properly funded.
[13:21] So properly,
[13:23] I picture a trust like a soup pot.
[13:25] You put all of your assets
[13:27] in that pot and then you'll avoid probate
[13:29] and it gets rolled out.
[13:31] But if something doesn't get put
[13:33] in that pot,
[13:35] I often say like,
[13:37] if there's a farm that's been
[13:39] passed down through generations
[13:41] and you forgot that you were going
[13:43] to inherit a 30 second of that farm
[13:45] or something like that.
[13:47] And it wasn't put into your probate,
[13:49] excuse me, into your trust,
[13:51] then a probate will have to happen
[13:53] to transfer that interest.
[13:55] So trust can be a really good way
[13:57] to avoid probate
[13:59] as long as they're properly funded.
[14:01] And also really appealing
[14:03] if you own properties in multiple states
[14:05] because that will avoid having
[14:07] to have a property
[14:09] and have a probate
[14:11] in every single state
[14:13] in which you own property.
[14:15] If you're somebody that just doesn't
[14:17] have a lot of,
[14:19] you don't own real property.
[14:21] All of your assets are
[14:23] tied up in bank accounts
[14:25] and you have your beneficiaries listed
[14:27] and they're still alive
[14:29] and you have your own property.
[14:31] So that's the way to avoid probate.
[14:33] There's some ways with deeds
[14:35] that you can avoid probate,
[14:37] like a transfer on death deed.
[14:39] So you record that
[14:41] and then when you die,
[14:43] the property will automatically transfer.
[14:45] Those are really appealing options
[14:47] to avoid probate.
[14:49] If you don't really have enough to create a trust,
[14:51] and it's kind of simple.
[14:53] I have one child.
[14:55] I have one house.
[14:57] Here's my transfer on death deed.
[14:58] I have one house
[15:00] because it's just very simple
[15:02] and straightforward.
[15:04] So those would be ways
[15:06] that you can avoid probates.
[15:08] Great insights.
[15:10] Let's walk through a real life example
[15:12] of a probate case
[15:14] and how it unfolded
[15:16] for the family.
[15:18] Do you have one that kind of sticks
[15:20] in your mind?
[15:22] There's always that one out there
[15:24] that you recall.
[15:26] It took a lot of time to handle.
[15:29] Let me think.
[15:32] There's a lot of straightforward,
[15:34] you know, non-dramatic probates
[15:36] that, you know,
[15:38] somebody calls,
[15:40] oh my gosh, my mom died.
[15:42] I usually, first,
[15:45] I'm like, are you okay?
[15:47] Take time to take care of yourself.
[15:49] This is a big thing.
[15:51] And then you file the probate.
[15:53] You get letters,
[15:55] there's a test inventory.
[15:57] And
[15:59] I give a letter, you know,
[16:01] saying this is everything you need to do.
[16:03] So you have the bullet point checklist
[16:05] of all of your responsibilities.
[16:07] And you go through
[16:09] and do all of that.
[16:11] And if there's no hiccups,
[16:13] then in eight months, you know,
[16:15] you're sending checks to all of the
[16:17] beneficiaries, people that receive things.
[16:19] And it's done.
[16:21] And everything went smoothly.
[16:23] There have also been, probably it's one of the very first ones I ever worked on.
[16:27] This man, bless his heart, was very, very generous.
[16:32] And we had to track down 55 relatives.
[16:37] And he didn't have that much, but he wanted everybody to know
[16:41] that he loved them and he provided for them.
[16:44] And so that was a scenario where it really took a long time just,
[16:49] I guess kind of in a nice way because we got to surprise all these people that never knew
[16:54] that their great uncle would include them and their will. But it was quite the process to
[17:00] track everybody down and find contact information to share news that, you know, they had a
[17:08] check waiting to be sent to them. So don't leave it to chance. Probates available, but so was
[17:13] planning ahead. Jennifer, thank you so much for your time today and your insights and
[17:18] walking us through this process. It's a long lengthy one and there are lots of nuances,
[17:23] as you had mentioned, it often depends on each individual situation. But thank you for your guidance
[17:28] on this. Thank you so much Lisa. That's it for today's episode of The Legacy Conversation with
[17:33] Jennifer Moore. If you're in Colorado and want to better understand how probate works or how it might
[17:40] apply to your situation, you can learn more by reaching out to springslawplc.com. Thank you so
[17:49] much for listening. Don't forget to like, leave a review, subscribe and come on back next time.
[17:54] We'll see you there. Thanks for watching. Be sure to hit that like and subscribe button and leave
[18:04] us a review in the comments.
[0:06] Welcome back to the Legacy Conversation with Jennifer Moore.
[0:09] Jennifer is the owner of Springs Legacy Law PLLC,
[0:14] where she helps individuals and families in Colorado
[0:17] create clear practical estate plans
[0:19] and navigate probate with confidence.
[0:21] I'm Lisa Mosbey, and today we're breaking down how
[0:24] probate actually works in Colorado,
[0:27] what the process looks like, and when it can be avoided.
[0:30] Welcome back, Jennifer. Thanks for joining me again.
[0:33] Hi, Lisa. Thank you so much.
[0:35] Jennifer, let's start with what is probate
[0:38] and what purpose does it serve in Colorado?
[0:41] So probate happens in Colorado.
[0:43] If somebody leaves a will,
[0:45] it will go through the process of probate.
[0:48] And even if somebody dies without a will
[0:51] or without a trust,
[0:53] if they own real property,
[0:55] their estate, which is all of their stuff,
[0:58] will still go through the probate process.
[1:00] I think you knew my next question,
[1:02] and that is what types of assets go through probate
[1:05] and what types pass outside of it.
[1:08] I heard you say house,
[1:09] but are there others?
[1:10] Yeah, that's a great question.
[1:12] So houses real property will pass through probate
[1:18] unless it is held in a trust.
[1:21] So I'm just going to set trust aside
[1:26] for purposes of this conversation.
[1:28] So if you own a house or several houses,
[1:31] that will all pass through the probate process.
[1:34] If you have any type of financial accounts,
[1:39] and you either did not name a beneficiary on them
[1:43] when you set up the account,
[1:46] or if that beneficiary has pre-deceased you,
[1:49] it will also go through the probate process.
[1:52] And I think we should maybe walk through what that looks like.
[1:55] What does the probate process look like
[1:57] from beginning to closing of an estate?
[2:00] Absolutely.
[2:01] So to kind of start off with what is probate?
[2:04] So probate is where a judge either looks at a will
[2:08] to make sure that it's valid
[2:10] or looks at the state laws to determine
[2:14] who should get what if somebody dies without a will.
[2:18] And the judge will either appoint the person
[2:22] that you named in your will,
[2:24] or the person that's deceased named in their will,
[2:27] to manage everything,
[2:29] or if somebody died without a will,
[2:32] they will appoint a family member,
[2:35] usually a close friend,
[2:37] to manage all of their assets through the probate process.
[2:42] So a lot of probate,
[2:44] I kind of joke that it's hurry up and wait
[2:47] at the outside of probate,
[2:49] so somebody has died.
[2:51] Family should always take time to grieve
[2:54] before they start dealing with this process.
[2:57] And then the will will be filed with the court
[3:00] or lodged with the court.
[3:02] And there's a whole bunch of pleadings at the beginning
[3:06] of probate that need to be filled out.
[3:09] So those pleadings are prepared and they're basically
[3:12] this is who was named to be the personal representative
[3:16] or executor in the will.
[3:18] Or there wasn't a will,
[3:20] this is a person that should be the personal representative
[3:23] or executor and this is why.
[3:25] You turn that all into a judge,
[3:27] you wait for a while,
[3:29] and then the judge will get back and either approve,
[3:33] yes, the person that was nominated
[3:36] gets to be in charge of the probate,
[3:38] the personal representative or executor,
[3:40] in which case they're executed letters,
[3:43] testimentary,
[3:45] or we need to pick somebody else,
[3:47] it's a better choice.
[3:49] Generally letters will be issued
[3:52] because you kind of have proven why the person is a good choice.
[3:57] And at that point,
[3:59] the person who is the executor or personal representative
[4:03] kind of puts their conductor hat on
[4:05] and they get to manage the estate.
[4:07] So what does that mean?
[4:08] They will pay all of the bills,
[4:12] final taxes, things like that,
[4:14] of the deceitant or the person that's died.
[4:18] And they will distribute assets
[4:22] according to the terms of the will
[4:24] or if there wasn't a will,
[4:26] according to the terms of the laws of the state
[4:28] in which the person died.
[4:30] So probate is basically the process of
[4:34] dumping everything in the pot
[4:36] and then distributing everything
[4:38] to the people that should receive
[4:40] the deceitants,
[4:42] belongings,
[4:44] assets, things like that.
[4:46] And I know there's no one-size-fits-all
[4:48] but how long does probate take in Colorado
[4:50] and does the court system help move the process along
[4:54] to speed it up?
[4:56] So that is,
[4:58] I've answered this question so many times
[5:00] and it's never really an easy answer.
[5:02] I kind of joke that it depends
[5:06] as the attorney's favorite answer
[5:08] and it does depend
[5:10] because if everything is really straightforward,
[5:14] it should go pretty smoothly.
[5:16] It's still probably going to take
[5:18] eight months to a year,
[5:20] closer to a year,
[5:22] to complete handling probate.
[5:26] And then there are kind of situations
[5:29] where everything runs amok.
[5:32] There's a child
[5:34] that the person didn't know about
[5:36] and the family members know about
[5:38] or they thought they paid all their bills
[5:40] but it turns out they owed all these creditors.
[5:42] There's so many things that can come
[5:44] out of left field and kind of
[5:46] throw probates off track
[5:48] which can lead
[5:50] to probates lasting for years
[5:52] depending upon how much the court has to
[5:56] intervene and decide
[5:58] what goes where.
[6:00] And that's not the court's fault.
[6:02] It's just that there's a lot of reasons
[6:04] that pop up that
[6:06] we're perhaps
[6:08] perhaps unanticipated
[6:10] that you know take more time to handle
[6:12] on the probate process.
[6:14] And Jennifer, what costs
[6:16] are typical involved in probate?
[6:18] Sure, so
[6:20] if you choose to hire an attorney
[6:22] which am biased
[6:24] but you probably should
[6:26] choose to have an attorney help you out,
[6:28] there's
[6:30] those legal fees,
[6:32] attorneys, you know,
[6:34] charge hundreds of dollars an hour
[6:36] and then there's the filing fee
[6:38] just to start the probate
[6:40] and that's around
[6:42] $255,275 just
[6:44] to get the probate started
[6:46] and then there's
[6:49] publication fees.
[6:51] So that's another few hundred dollars.
[6:53] So if you decide
[6:55] I'm going to do this by myself
[6:57] and it goes smoothly
[6:59] we'll say
[7:01] that probate
[7:03] maybe $500.
[7:05] If you have
[7:07] like a vanilla easy probate
[7:09] and you hire an attorney
[7:11] $3,000 to $5,000
[7:13] probably
[7:15] and if you have the messy one
[7:18] who knows
[7:20] it really just depends on
[7:22] how messy it is.
[7:24] I guess, you know, how many hours
[7:26] your attorney has to put in
[7:28] to sort out knots
[7:30] and also kind of like to say
[7:32] that's a really good reason
[7:34] to hire an attorney at the outset
[7:36] because a lot of times
[7:38] people will look at the paperwork
[7:40] okay, I think I can figure this out
[7:42] they'll miss a deadline
[7:44] and then it costs so much more
[7:46] to hire an attorney to straighten out knots
[7:48] that, you know, never should have been created.
[7:50] So I have this horrible nightmare
[7:52] of thinking that
[7:54] cases that go through probate
[7:56] will end up at zero.
[7:58] You know, every piece of
[8:00] every dollar in the account
[8:02] and it's over, we closed it
[8:04] and it's at zero. Nobody gets anything
[8:06] because we've burned it all up and expenses.
[8:08] Do you ever see that happening?
[8:10] I have not ever seen that happen
[8:12] but I have seen probates
[8:14] that cost, you know, $100,000.
[8:16] Happily none that I've been part of
[8:18] but in law firms
[8:20] that I've worked for where
[8:22] generally it's, you know,
[8:24] relatives who are fighting over every single thing
[8:26] and everybody's loyering up
[8:28] because they are not agreeing
[8:30] or there are multiple
[8:32] copies of a will
[8:34] and ways like that
[8:36] where it can get really messy and expensive
[8:38] but I think it kind of comes back
[8:40] to the importance of a good estate plan.
[8:42] You know, if you have a well
[8:44] clearly executed document
[8:46] you're going to save fees
[8:48] on after you've passed away
[8:50] because it will just be an easy
[8:52] and easy peasy
[8:54] or as close, you know, as close
[8:56] as you can come to ensuring that
[8:58] we'll be an easy peasy process
[9:00] where you open the probate
[9:02] the will is good
[9:04] and then you close the probate
[9:06] a year later
[9:08] because everything was just
[9:10] straightforward and easy to understand.
[9:12] So that's the goal.
[9:14] So what role does the executor play
[9:16] throughout this whole process?
[9:18] They have to commit a year of their life
[9:20] and maybe longer
[9:22] to walk through this
[9:24] on your behalf.
[9:26] What role does the executor play?
[9:28] Yeah, it's a big job.
[9:30] They pretty much
[9:32] step into your shoes
[9:34] and they collect all of your assets
[9:38] pay all of your bills
[9:40] pay your final taxes
[9:42] get rid of all your stuff
[9:46] or whether that is
[9:48] to people that want it,
[9:50] your children,
[9:52] whoever want it
[9:54] or whether it is, you know,
[9:56] organizing and having an estate sale
[9:58] they're in charge of doing all of that
[10:00] corralling all the assets,
[10:02] liquidating them
[10:04] if need be
[10:06] and then distributing them.
[10:09] So yeah, it can be
[10:11] a lot of time.
[10:13] The good news for executors
[10:15] is that you can pay yourself
[10:17] for your time.
[10:19] So it's not just necessarily a freebie job.
[10:23] But it is a lot of work.
[10:25] And
[10:27] when you're creating your estate playing
[10:29] consider that.
[10:31] It's not a gift you're giving somebody
[10:33] and it also needs to be somebody
[10:35] that's really
[10:37] responsible that you would trust to handle
[10:39] these types of things.
[10:41] Especially since you mentioned
[10:43] there are deadlines and those deadlines
[10:45] that are required to have an attorney
[10:47] help you out with, you know,
[10:49] what tends to cause delays or complications
[10:51] during the probate process?
[10:53] I have one right now.
[10:55] I mean, this is so weird.
[10:57] But the well was taken by somebody
[10:59] on the original sign copy of the well
[11:01] was taken by somebody
[11:03] who is now on the lamb
[11:05] and is refusing to turn
[11:07] over the copy of the well.
[11:09] So there's a delay there
[11:11] because we know there's a well
[11:13] required to turn over to the court
[11:15] because it got stolen.
[11:17] There's other situations.
[11:19] I had a client
[11:23] where the decedent was very,
[11:25] very well off, very,
[11:27] very generous
[11:29] and was kind of like a micro donor
[11:33] in life and he wanted to continue
[11:35] that through
[11:37] his legacy.
[11:39] So he had left everything
[11:41] to beneficiaries in Africa,
[11:45] in India,
[11:47] in Nicaragua,
[11:49] and tracking them all down
[11:51] and sending even $10,000
[11:53] which is kind of an easy thing
[11:57] to do in the States.
[11:59] But to somebody that doesn't even have an address
[12:01] let alone a bank account,
[12:03] figuring out how to send those $10,000
[12:05] to every single different
[12:07] beneficiary.
[12:09] And that took several years
[12:11] to accomplish.
[12:13] Things like
[12:15] creditors just coming out
[12:17] of the woodwork.
[12:19] You know, they had
[12:21] eight zillion credit cards,
[12:23] all with balances
[12:25] that can take a really long time.
[12:27] Surprise children can take a really long time,
[12:29] fighting children.
[12:31] I always say,
[12:33] you know,
[12:35] probably not with a surprise child,
[12:37] but with numbers.
[12:39] It's so much cheaper
[12:41] to talk to each other
[12:43] than to pay me
[12:45] and have them pay their attorney
[12:47] to duke it out,
[12:49] like just talk to each other, you know.
[12:51] So those are ways
[12:53] that can prolong a probate
[12:55] and make it really expensive.
[12:57] And are there any options
[12:59] available for avoiding probate
[13:01] and in what situations
[13:03] do these options actually make sense?
[13:05] A really popular option
[13:07] is a revocable living trust.
[13:11] This is where you put all
[13:13] of your assets into that trust.
[13:15] And then you'll avoid probate.
[13:19] If it's properly funded.
[13:21] So properly,
[13:23] I picture a trust like a soup pot.
[13:25] You put all of your assets
[13:27] in that pot and then you'll avoid probate
[13:29] and it gets rolled out.
[13:31] But if something doesn't get put
[13:33] in that pot,
[13:35] I often say like,
[13:37] if there's a farm that's been
[13:39] passed down through generations
[13:41] and you forgot that you were going
[13:43] to inherit a 30 second of that farm
[13:45] or something like that.
[13:47] And it wasn't put into your probate,
[13:49] excuse me, into your trust,
[13:51] then a probate will have to happen
[13:53] to transfer that interest.
[13:55] So trust can be a really good way
[13:57] to avoid probate
[13:59] as long as they're properly funded.
[14:01] And also really appealing
[14:03] if you own properties in multiple states
[14:05] because that will avoid having
[14:07] to have a property
[14:09] and have a probate
[14:11] in every single state
[14:13] in which you own property.
[14:15] If you're somebody that just doesn't
[14:17] have a lot of,
[14:19] you don't own real property.
[14:21] All of your assets are
[14:23] tied up in bank accounts
[14:25] and you have your beneficiaries listed
[14:27] and they're still alive
[14:29] and you have your own property.
[14:31] So that's the way to avoid probate.
[14:33] There's some ways with deeds
[14:35] that you can avoid probate,
[14:37] like a transfer on death deed.
[14:39] So you record that
[14:41] and then when you die,
[14:43] the property will automatically transfer.
[14:45] Those are really appealing options
[14:47] to avoid probate.
[14:49] If you don't really have enough to create a trust,
[14:51] and it's kind of simple.
[14:53] I have one child.
[14:55] I have one house.
[14:57] Here's my transfer on death deed.
[14:58] I have one house
[15:00] because it's just very simple
[15:02] and straightforward.
[15:04] So those would be ways
[15:06] that you can avoid probates.
[15:08] Great insights.
[15:10] Let's walk through a real life example
[15:12] of a probate case
[15:14] and how it unfolded
[15:16] for the family.
[15:18] Do you have one that kind of sticks
[15:20] in your mind?
[15:22] There's always that one out there
[15:24] that you recall.
[15:26] It took a lot of time to handle.
[15:29] Let me think.
[15:32] There's a lot of straightforward,
[15:34] you know, non-dramatic probates
[15:36] that, you know,
[15:38] somebody calls,
[15:40] oh my gosh, my mom died.
[15:42] I usually, first,
[15:45] I'm like, are you okay?
[15:47] Take time to take care of yourself.
[15:49] This is a big thing.
[15:51] And then you file the probate.
[15:53] You get letters,
[15:55] there's a test inventory.
[15:57] And
[15:59] I give a letter, you know,
[16:01] saying this is everything you need to do.
[16:03] So you have the bullet point checklist
[16:05] of all of your responsibilities.
[16:07] And you go through
[16:09] and do all of that.
[16:11] And if there's no hiccups,
[16:13] then in eight months, you know,
[16:15] you're sending checks to all of the
[16:17] beneficiaries, people that receive things.
[16:19] And it's done.
[16:21] And everything went smoothly.
[16:23] There have also been, probably it's one of the very first ones I ever worked on.
[16:27] This man, bless his heart, was very, very generous.
[16:32] And we had to track down 55 relatives.
[16:37] And he didn't have that much, but he wanted everybody to know
[16:41] that he loved them and he provided for them.
[16:44] And so that was a scenario where it really took a long time just,
[16:49] I guess kind of in a nice way because we got to surprise all these people that never knew
[16:54] that their great uncle would include them and their will. But it was quite the process to
[17:00] track everybody down and find contact information to share news that, you know, they had a
[17:08] check waiting to be sent to them. So don't leave it to chance. Probates available, but so was
[17:13] planning ahead. Jennifer, thank you so much for your time today and your insights and
[17:18] walking us through this process. It's a long lengthy one and there are lots of nuances,
[17:23] as you had mentioned, it often depends on each individual situation. But thank you for your guidance
[17:28] on this. Thank you so much Lisa. That's it for today's episode of The Legacy Conversation with
[17:33] Jennifer Moore. If you're in Colorado and want to better understand how probate works or how it might
[17:40] apply to your situation, you can learn more by reaching out to springslawplc.com. Thank you so
[17:49] much for listening. Don't forget to like, leave a review, subscribe and come on back next time.
[17:54] We'll see you there. Thanks for watching. Be sure to hit that like and subscribe button and leave
[18:04] us a review in the comments.
