Frequently, people die who have done no estate planning, or their estate planning did not fit their various situations. Because of this, they may have been unsuccessful in achieving one of the chief goals of estate planning: the avoidance of probate. Probate can be time-consuming, stressful, and most of all, expensive. Depending on the situation and where you live, you may be able to use a short form probate procedure to get things done more quickly.
As an example, in Missouri, probate can be accomplished by affidavit, provided the estate is less than $40,000. This figure is net, so many debts can be used to bring the total value of the estate down. Even if at first blush the estate appears to be too large to take advantage of the short form procedure (usually because of a home), it may still be possible if the mortgage is large enough to bring the net value low enough. Keep in mind that funeral expenses and unsecured encumbrances do not reduce the net estate.
The small estate affidavit may be filed at any time after death for a person who dies without a will. If the decedent has a will, the affidavit must be filed after the will has been presented to the court. The will must be presented within one year of the date of death. The small estate affidavit does not generally require the publication of notice, provided that the net value of the estate does not exceed $15,000 or one year has elapsed.
Another option is filing a determination of heirship. This procedure will ask the court to determine that an heir is entitled to particular property. In certain cases, the petitioner may be required to publish a notice seeking known heirs whose whereabouts are unknown. After this step, the petitioner and the attorney must prove the allegations of heirship in the petition. This will require a court appearance where evidence, including witnesses, is presented to the court to prove heirship.
While these procedures are less complicated and quicker than a full-blown probate procedure, they are still sufficiently complex to make hiring an attorney a good idea.
Please don’t hesitate to contact our firm if we can be of any assistance. Call us at 816-561-5000 or send us a message through the form below to schedule an appointment.
*This post was originally published on October 8, 2014
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