Can you explain first what probate is and why people look for ways to avoid it?

Sure.

I guess I'll take the first part to explain what probate is.

It's a court process, so it's the actual circuit court, probably where you passed or where a majority of your estate is located.

So it's the same court in Arkansas where you get divorced or... change your name so a lot of stuff goes through the circuit court and essentially how you end up there is um well when you're passed you end up somewhere else but how your loved one or your beneficiary ends up there is that you uh the decedent the person who's passed has left something in their name when they passed and so it doesn't automatically that it doesn't automatically go to someone you know unless you've arranged that and so that's a that would be an example of appropriate avoidance mechanism But for a lot of people that have done no planning and they have assets, they're going to die with those assets in their name.

And the only way to have assets transferred from one name to the other in that scenario after you pass is that you have to have a judge sign an order saying that's the case.

okay yeah i understand i understand that that makes sense the um you're mentioning you know trusts right and i've certainly i've spoken to lots of attorneys about trusts for for various uh purposes one being you know avoiding probate can you say a little bit more about how trusts work in in this context of you know passing passing assets to families without probate and Why would some families choose that approach, or might there be a reason to not go the trust route?

Yeah, as far as the trust route, the major benefit is that you can...

So, you know, in Arkansas, you know, when a family begins the process, the probate process, after a loved one, say, passes away, what does that process typically involve at the very beginning?

Well, in some cases, you have to wait 45 days before you file any legal paperwork with the court.

But essentially, to get it started, it's recommended that you reach out to somebody like us who are probate attorneys that do this regularly.

But one of the things we will, if you can't bring it when you first meet with us, we will ask for you to bring certain paperwork to get started or at least retrieve it.

One of those documents would be like the death certificate of the person who passed away, which is also known as the decedent.

And another document that is crucial is a will if there is one involved.

So if there's one involved, we would attach it to the paperwork that we're going to submit to the court.

What's typical for the timeline of a probate case in Arkansas?

Under Arkansas law, what actually happens when a person dies without one?

I think your question is rightfully skeptical of that misunderstanding, which it is.

So Arkansas is a title state, which basically says that what you own in your name is yours.

So typically when people buy a residence, for example, I say residence for a reason.

and their husband and wife, it will go to the spouse, right? But spouses can own property and bank accounts and stuff in their name only, and that will not automatically go to the spouse.

So if that's the case, those such assets and a few others would be subject to probate because we need court intervention, and that's what probate is, to essentially say this is where it goes to.

And honestly...

What types of property are usually affected when someone dies without a will?

You know, where does that concern usually come from? And how often is it based on misunderstandings about how Medicaid works?

I think a lot of the...

A lot of the concern comes from the misunderstanding, actually, is your question.

And that just to be straightforward with you, Arkansas allows elderly people, whether or not they're single or married, to have children.

um, a residence and also get on Medicaid, which is the service that pays for nursing home care when you're broke on paper.

Okay.

So of course, I know we could unpack some of that, what that means, but essentially, um, There are businesses that make a living, essentially, and they tell their clients to sell their house.

Can you share an example of a situation where early planning helped a family to protect their home that might otherwise have been taken?

But I mean, what balance have you guys found between, like, life, work, and running?

So definitely during COVID, like you had mentioned, uh, not only did I rip the Band-Aid off, I, I grabbed the box of Band-Aids and threw the entire box in the trash.

Uh, Broke Man had come out with a, uh, five-week long running race, and I let that completely consume my life during that five weeks.

Uh, started off the first week at, uh, like 80-some miles a week, and being a five-week long race, Shane's competitive, and, uh, well, I wanted to win it.

Uh, so then come week two, had to crank it up and get in 100 plus that week, and then I think max, I got in like 135 in one week.

So I ended up winning the race, uh, you know, five weeks long, got in 555 miles.

Uh, but, uh, definite vacation needed after that, and, uh, the wife put me back to reality check after going 555 miles in five weeks.

Is there anything you would've done differently or changed, like, just to maximize that a little bit more?