Good news for Probate settlement starting January 2024. A simplified probate for assets that fall outside your trust! Known as the Simple Estate Affidavit, it allows a shorter version of probate for people with assets titled outside their trusts.
Historically it has been a single choice when facing probate in Oregon; if your probate assets were above a predesignated amount (currently $75,000 in personal property and $200,000 in real property), then a full, long, expensive probate was required. If the assets fell below those amounts, then you could take advantage of the Small Estate Affidavit version of probate.
Many forward thinkers invest time, energy and money to create trusts to keep their assets out of probate. However, it is not uncommon that over time some assets escape the trust and trigger probate regardless. Unfortunately then, for people with a trust who failed to include larger bank accounts, purchased new property and did not include it in the trust, or had banks make beneficiary errors, probate may be required despite their best intentions.
Enter Senate Bill 308A – Simple Estate Affidavit for people with trusts and non-trust assets.
Senate Bill 308A brings two changes that greatly benefit those planners who created trusts but failed to get all their assets in trust. First, the Small Estate Affidavit version of probate is now known as the “Simple Estate Affidavit”. Second, the bill keeps the same small estate thresholds but now allows trust estates to use the “simple” process regardless of how much has fallen out of the trust. The bill “assumes” the intent was for the assets to be in the trust and allows them to be transferred accordingly. Note: This does not apply if there are named beneficiaries for the assets and they total up to $75,000 in personal property and/or $200,000 in real property.
The key here is that a trust must exist at the time of death. As such, trusts remain the primary tool for avoiding probate and it is even more important now that you have one in place.
For families who may feel they do not have trust assets today, creating a trust as part of your estate plan will create a “bucket” to add to as your estate grows. More importantly it may trigger the simplified process even if you fail to transfer major assets into the trust later. Note though, that this law is very new and having an empty trust has not been proven to trigger this simplified probate process. Funding the trust with all your real property and accounts is generally the best approach when creating a trust.
Contact NW Estate Law today to discuss the advantages of a Revocable Living Trust in your Oregon Estate Plan.
