Wow, what a ridiculous idea — ante-mortem probate! I have two simpler words that offer a better solution: “LIVING TRUST”
What better way to gauge a testator’s true intent than a trust arrangement the testator lives with day in and day out, maintaining constantly with funding and updates and family meetings and all manner of communication during life.
The living trust is simpler, easier, cheaper, much more probative of your intent, and much less likely to make your last days on earth a living hell for you and your family.
A handful of states allow a person to probate a will (and challengers to contest the validity of a will) before the testator (the person enacting the will) dies. In recent years, there’s been a trend to expand the practice to more states. Having had an interesting discussion about this issue at the recent Heckerling conference, here’s why I think the practice is a bad idea.
Source: Ten Arguments Against Pre-Death Probate and Will Contests
