Most of the articles you’ll read about avoiding probate court will probably talk about protecting your estate’s assets so they can pass to your beneficiaries. You’ll read that if your assets need to go through the probate process, your estate is going to lose money—after all, probate can take a long time and will end up costing a lot under certain circumstances. While the successful transfer of money and assets is important for many reasons, it’s not the only issue to consider when estate planning.

Here are a few things you should think about when deciding whether to set up your estate in a way that circumvents the courtroom.

Family Should Be There to Support Each Other, Not Fight Over Inheritance

Family is supposed to be a support system. When a loved one dies, a family is supposed to come together to provide comfort and help where it’s needed. In fact, families that deal with their grief together by talking out their feelings will be able to go through the proper stages of grief more quickly.

If several family members are in conflict because they are fighting over assets from the deceased’s estate, no one is going to be able to grieve properly. Avoiding probate court can prevent this.

Complicated Grief

When people aren’t able to work through their grief in a healthy way, for instance as sometimes happens when they are preoccupied with how their loved one’s estate is being handled, they can suffer from what is known as complicated grief. Complicated grief is grief from the loss of a loved one that lasts for more than six months and includes certain symptoms.

According to an article on the New York Times website, signs of complicated grief include “intense yearning, longing or emotional pain; frequent preoccupying, intrusive thoughts and memories of the person lost; a feeling of disbelief or inability to accept the loss; and difficulty imagining a meaningful life without that person.” These symptoms and their effect on the body and mind can lead to health problems if experienced for a prolonged amount of time.

The Money Is Relief for Struggling Loved Ones

Avoiding probate court also means that your family will have access to the assets in your estate sooner rather than later. When you’ve left behind sizable obligations, such as hospital bills and other debts, your family still has to pay your debts whether they have access or not. If your estate goes through probate, you might be putting your loved ones through a lot of stress as they scrape together what they can for weeks—and sometimes months—until the probate process finishes.

Is Avoiding Probate Court Important for You and Your Beneficiaries?

If you want your estate to pass smoothly to the next generation, there’s no question—you need to set up an estate plan as soon as possible. Get in touch with the attorneys at Casal & Moreno today and put our expert knowledge to use.