What is Probate and why is it bad?

Probate Court is who decides who gets your property in the event you pass away. The court decides this one of two ways. Testate is if you have a will and the will lays out who gets your stuff and intestate If you don’t have an estate plan the State of Missouri has written one for you. It states that your property goes one-half to your spouse and one-half to your kids or all to your kids if you have no wife and all to your wife if you have no kids. If you don’t have either it goes equally between your siblings and parents and then down to nieces and nephews. Probate can take 6 months or even years to do and can be expensive. As much as 5% or more of the value of the assets.