Probate Wills
Anyone who has gone through the Probate process understands what a trying time this is for the Executor and the family of the decease. The decease private information is subject to public scrutiny and how awful is that. Anyone can access this file if they have the file number and these are published in the newspaper and online. On top of public access if a person passes and has a will or no will, their assets can be frozen and if they are still alive but incapacitated their medical care can't be dictated by the family. Probate Wills is not the way to go but they are what the majority of America does. The wealthier people of America use Living Trusts and everything is set in place so when the time comes the family doesn't have any problems with assets or medical care. For now you will need to know your way around Probate Wills if you are going to be a Probate Agent or represent investors who purchase Probate Real Estate from you.
With Probate Wills, an executor is named who must petition the court to be approved to act as the executor and until approved is called the petitioner. This process can take several weeks and must be done before anything else can happen with the estate. The petitioner once approved by the court then has a shopping list of requirements they must do over a 90-120 day period in order for the probate to clear the courts and go to what is called final distribution.
With Probate Wills, there is so much red tape especially in California that this becomes a full time job for the executor. In many cases I have seen many executors moving into the estate property since most of the time they are vacant. They have assets to find and inventory, bills to pay and other required acts supervised by the courts which is mind boggling. Why our court systems allow this is beyond comprehension to me. Again a a good Probate Agent you will need to know all this process.
As far as my business is concerned (buying and flipping probate property for investors) Probate Wills are my bread and butter because the executor and heirs are in need of someone to help them. Countless times I have been thanked and sent gifts for my help to the executor and the family. This usually comes from my buying(investor or client) the estate home and taking what is usually the biggest headache off their plate. Now this service comes at a price as I buy wholesale because I'm going to most likely flip the estate property to an end user buyer within 90 days from the time I purchase. This discount which is usually between 15-25% hasn't been a problem with the estate when it works because I'm relieving them of a burden and bottom line this is free money to the heirs. In the typical estate sale which I buy, there are multiple heirs usually between 3-5. So if my purchase is at a discount of $60-100K to the estate it really only means from $$12,500 to $20,000 discount to each heir. Now if they are each coming out with $75K and the headache is off their plate, you can see why this works.
In California there are two ways to probate an estate. One is the only court confirmation process and the other is through what is called the I.A.E.A. The old court confirmation process is what I have been talking about. Probate Wills have the right to go with either process providing the Probate Will doesn't prevent the executor from using the I.A.E.A. If this I.A.E.A is used, the executor can treat the real estate sale just like you or I would in selling our own home. There is very limited red tape and the only items which have to be address is what is called a "Notice of Proposed Action" and have "Letters of Testamentary" which allows the executor to sign the grant deed. That's it, no court confirmation process, no appraisal (which are jokes), no 10% buyer deposit which keeps most retail buyers away, and no "as is" purchase. This I.A.E.A law has been around since 1987 and it still amazes me why more estates don't use this opposed to the old court confirmation process. Today around 50% still use the old Probate Sale Confirmation process.
Probate Willsmost likely will always be around as it much cheaper than having a living trust done but the money spent will make the lives of the decease family so much more easier when the time comes. Anyone who is in a will should consider seeking out a Living Trust and researching the benefits of doing so. I have only touched on this subject. For more info cheap my probate site at....www.probate-realestate.com
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