Many assets can be distributed to others automatically when you die.
| Asset |
How it is distributed automatically |
|
If you own real estate as joint tenants:
|
The property will go to the other joint tenants. |
| If you own real estate as tenants by the entirety (that is, you and your spouse own the property with rights of survivorship): |
The property will go to your spouse. |
| If you had a life estate: |
The property will go to the person or people who own the remainder interest. |
| If you had joint bank or other financial accounts: |
The accounts will go to the other joint account holders. |
| If you have money or assets in a “pay on death account”: |
The assets will go to the person or people listed as the beneficiary of the account. |
Any asset that has one of these special forms of ownership does not “go through probate.” Even if you have a will, any of the assets with one of these forms of ownership do not go through probate.
Note: If you own real estate or a bank account as “tenants in common,” the asset will not be distributed to others automatically when you die. Instead, it will have to go through probate after you die.
