Even for those Ohio residents who are young and healthy, taking the time to do proper estate planning is still a beneficial process. Not only can it be a useful tool to put one's financial affairs in order, but it can also help avoid potentially costly probate litigation in the event of one's death. Unfortunately, many people do not take even small, cost-effective estate planning steps, such as including survivorship rights in property deeds.

The consequences of neglecting to include survivorship rights can be costly. In one case, a man whose wife passed away in December 2010 spent nine months and nearly $3,000 to transfer the property from the wife's name to his name. However, had he acted before his wife passed away, he could have filed a Joint and Survivorship Deed with the applicable jurisdictions at a cost of just $200. A Joint and Survivorship Deed allows property to pass from one spouse to another upon a death.

One probate court judge in Ohio, though, is seeking to draw attention to the issue. He has already started a program to help homeowners, and has found that 37 percent of deeds that volunteers have examined may need to be updated. In fact, it is often a good idea to review any property deeds in one's name every so often to ensure that the deed is up to date.

However, the lack of appropriate survivorship language in a property deed is just one issue among many that could lead to substantial court costs. Through estate planning, it is often possible to identify these issues so that one's heirs and beneficiaries are not tied down in probate litigation. Moreover, estate planning may also be able to help ensure that taxes and other fees do not heavily impact the estate itself.

Source: Akron Beacon Journal, "Probate judge launches project to help some avoid probate," Betty Lin-Fisher, Jan. 29, 2012