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When one passes away with assets under their name, there is a chance it may go through probate. Generally, the factors that determine this is the type of asset, how is it titled and its value. Probate is the process in which the court can determine who is the legal recipient of that assets. It consists of engaging an attorney to navigate through the process. Probate is time consuming, costly and cumbersome. In most cases, people are able to avoid probate by doing some type of planning. This can be as simple as adding a beneficiary to an account to creating some type of trust. As a starting point, it is wise to take an inventory of the assets you have acquired over the years and see what are the potential assets that may pass through probate and seek ways to avoid it.