The caller wants to know why he should try to avoid probate.

Patrick: -real quick background, 70 years old, four children married, good marriage. Why do I need to avoid probate?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Did you tell me you're married, Patrick?

Patrick: I am.

Tom: Patrick, if you're like most married couples, you own everything jointly. That means when one of you passes away, the survivor automatically owns it all. Probate would come into play when the second of you passes away or if you both happen to die in a common accident. People are interested in avoiding probate these days because it's expensive and because it takes a long time.

Florida statutes recommends an attorney fee and an executor fee to be equal to 6% of the value of those assets that go through probate. Probate these days can take up to a year. People are avoiding probate for those two reasons. There are some great tools out there for avoiding probate. They're not complicated, they're not expensive. At the Olson Law Group in Orlando, we're all about helping people to avoid probate. Patrick, does that help you out at all?

Patrick: Yes. That's what I thought I'd hear and what's a tolerance and a fee if you go and try to avoid a probate?

Tom: Patrick, we offer a free initial consultation to talk about estate planning and avoiding probate. We can do that over the phone, we can do that in-person, we can do it via Zoom. Patrick, my suggestion would be that you simply schedule a free initial consultation with one of the lawyers here at the Olson Law Group. Together, we'll make an action plan for you. Once we do that, we'd be happy to quote you a fee. Thank you.

Patrick: Sounds like something to do. Thank you.

Tom: All right, Patrick, thank you for calling. We appreciate it.

[00:01:45] [END OF AUDIO]