I'm 67 years old, my health is in decline and I want to give my kids a stress-free inheritance — what's the best (and easiest) way to avoid probate in America?

Use a living trust

The problem with using a will to pass assets down to your children is that wills are subject to probate, which is the often-complicated process of proving a will’s validity in court.

The amount of time it takes to go through probate depends on the complexity of the estate. But Trust & Will, an online estate-planning service, puts the average time to complete probate at 20 months. That's a long time for your children to wait for an inheritance.

There's also the cost to think about. On average, probate costs 3% to 7% of the value of a given estate, according to Trust & Will. If your estate is worth $1 million, that means you're looking at $30,000 to $70,000 sliced off the top.

It’s for these reasons you may want to consider using a living trust to pass down assets instead of a will. A living trust is another tool that can be used to control how assets are distributed upon your death, while avoiding probate. They can be especially helpful if you have a larger estate or a larger number of beneficiaries.

Of course, you’ll need to weigh the cost and time of setting up a living trust against going through probate. You’ll commonly pay more to establish a trust than to write a will. But the benefit of avoiding probate (both the hassle and the expense) may be worth it.

Plus, you should know that wills that go through probate become a matter of public record. If you use one, any nosy person can look up the details and see what your children are inheriting. A living trust allows your financial matters to remain private.

Speaking with a financial adviser or estate planner can help you decide what may be best for your situation.

Kiss your credit card debt goodbye

Millions of Americans are struggling to crawl out of debt in the face of record-high interest rates. A personal loan offers lower interest rates and fixed payments, making it a smart choice to consolidate high-interest credit card debt. It helps save money, simplifies payments, and accelerates debt payoff. Credible is a free online service that shows you the best lending options to pay off your credit card debt fast — and save a ton in interest.

Explore better rates

Designate beneficiaries on your accounts

You might assume that you need to list all of your assets in a will to ensure that they’re passed down according to your wishes. But that’s not necessarily true.

Many financial institutions allow you to designate a payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary, or multiple beneficiaries. Your POD beneficiary then inherits your account upon your death. You can generally designate a POD beneficiary for savings accounts, CDs, IRAs, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accounts.

Give away assets while you're still alive

It’s not a rule that you need to wait until your death for your loved ones to inherit your assets. Giving assets away before you die could help you avoid a world of complications. And as a plus, you might get to see how your children benefit from the assets they receive. For example, if you give one of your children a large sum of money, they might use it to buy a home — and you get to be a part of that.

That said, you may need to be careful about giving assets away due to the gift tax, which is a tax that you, as the giver, would be required to pay. There’s an annual gift tax limit, which in 2024 is $18,000 per recipient. This is the maximum amount you can give without having to report it to the IRS. But gifting past the limit doesn’t necessarily mean you will pay taxes. Any overages count against your lifetime limit, which in 2024 is $13.61 million. Once the lifetime limit is exceeded, you’re required to pay the gift tax.

Finally, if you own a home and want to pass it down, you may want to consider establishing a joint ownership with right to survivorship. This way, if you die, the title on the home should pass to your surviving owners — which can be your children. It might be a good idea to work with a real estate or estate planning lawyer to set up this arrangement, but it could help ensure that your home changes hands smoothly without going through the probate process.

Editor’s note, Nov. 6, 2024: This story has been updated to clarify that the gift tax kicks in once the total amount in overages beyond the annual limit exceeds the lifetime limit.