When planning your estate you will want to do everything that you can do to keep your family from facing time consuming and money draining ordeals. One such ordeal occurs when a will is probated. If you feel that you may be leaving your beneficiaries a large estate, there are several different ways you can invest your money so that your beneficiaries do not have to struggle with the grief and cost of probate. Roth IRAs and 401Ks are just two ways to plan your estate to be probate-less.

Roth IRAs

Roth IRAs are one way that you can plan your estate, especially with the intention of avoiding probate. Roth IRAs are especially popular as they allow investors to withdraw funds without paying taxes or penalties. Roth IRAs also do not require that the investor make withdrawals after a certain age. With these aspects combined, you can keep your money growing and growing and can pass it on to your loved ones with relative ease.

According to Nolo, a do-it-yourself investment and estate planning company, Roth IRAs allow money to be passed on easily. You simply put whoever you wish to name on the form that the account custodian gives you, according to Nolo. This is different from a regular IRA in which the whole idea is to use the money you have saved before your death. You can name one beneficiary or more, and according to Nolo, the presence of the IRA need not be mentioned in the will.

401k’s

401k’s are one of the very popular ways to invest. According to the American Estate Planning Attorney Directory, 401k’s are also perfectly reasonable ways to avoid probate. 401k’s along with IRAs are considered a small estate. This specifically occurs when the estate’s worth is under $100,000.