If you’re responsible for aging parents or raising young children, one of the most important financial steps you can take is estate planning. Unfortunately, if a proper estate plan isn’t in place, many of your assets will have to go through a process called probate before being passed to your loved ones. Probate is something you’ll want to avoid for your family because it can be time-consuming, expensive, and even emotionally stressful. So, let us help you with understanding probate and how to avoid it.

After a loved one has passed away and the funeral has been held, the task of sorting through their personal belongings begins. The question of what to do with a loved one’s remaining possessions is one that every family faces. Some items, like trinkets and personal effects, may be given away to family or friends. Others, including medical equipment, can be sold or donated to charity. From eyeglasses and hearing aids to wheelchairs and at-home hospital beds, there are options for giving used medical equipment a second life.

Although having a will is a good basic form of planning, a will does not avoid probate. Instead, a will simply lets you inform the probate court of your wishes—your loved ones still have to go through the probate process to make those wishes legal. Learn the top 3 reasons why you might want to avoid probate.

At the end of the day, probate serves as a default system to ensure the fair distribution of even small amounts of money and property. However, probate can create undue cost and delays. For that reason, many people prefer to use strategies to keep their property out of probate when they die. Learn the pros and cons of probate.