When someone passes away, their estate generally goes through probate. Beneficiaries will typically get their inheritances, but it may not happen immediately. The probate process can take weeks or months, depending on the complexity of the estate, the availability of the estate executor, if there are any will challenges and other related issues.
In some cases, an inheritance may be provided relatively quickly based on how it was set up prior to the deceased’s passing. For example, they may have named the beneficiary on a payable-on-death (POD) account. This type of account generally skips probate, and the beneficiary becomes the new account holder once it is clear that the original owner has passed away. With a little planning, a person can speed up how fast an heir or other beneficiary receives an inheritance.
A beneficiary’s inheritance can be intentionally delayed
There are times when someone doesn’t want a beneficiary to have access to their inheritance immediately. They can do it by putting it into a trust.
For instance, perhaps an elderly person has a beneficiary who is a 19-year-old college student. If they feel that person was too young to receive an inheritance, they could put it in a trust stipulating that it will only be released when the beneficiary reaches a certain age. It is even possible to designating multiple ages, such as saying that they get a third of their inheritance at 21, another third at 25 and the final third at age 30.
While going through the estate administration and probate process, it is important to carefully consider how the estate plan was constructed. Beneficiaries and other parties involved need to know what legal steps to take at this time.
