When you are thinking about your future and what comes for your family after you die, you make out a will. That will let you arrange who is going to get your assets after you have passed on and how things are going to be taken care of. You want to make sure that you have everything arranged so that it's as easy as possible on your family because it's going to be hard enough on them. One of the things that you can do that you might not have thought of before is to have the will pre-probated.
Probate
Probate is a process that wills go through. The lawyer or executor submits the will to the probate court. The judge in the probate court will make any decisions necessary when it comes to your will and disbursing everything out to your family and friends. Pre-probating it is a good idea for a lot of reasons.
Heads Off Contestation
There is always the chance that someone in your family or friend group might contest your will, especially if they have been cut out of your will, they aren't getting what they think they should, or they think that someone else is getting something that they don't deserve. They may try to contest your will by saying that you weren't in your right mind or you didn't know what you were doing. If you think that will happen when it comes time for your will to be disbursed, you can send the will through ante-mortem probate. Ante-mortem is just a fancy way of saying before death. That way, you can prove that your mind is sound. The judge can ask you any questions as to why you have made certain choices in your will and why you want things to be done this way. When you die, the will can just be disbursed the way that you want it without any risk of contestation, which can cut into whatever assets you have as well as make it take longer for your family to get the assets that you may have left for them.
Planning for what happens after you die is a smart thing to do. You should have a will to make sure that everything you have goes the way that you want it to. One of the things you can do is to pre-probate your will, which will make it easier for your family after your death. Contact a professional like H. Charles Woerner, Jr. PA for more information.