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WARREN -- Following the success of their first event, Trumbull County Probate Court Judge James Fredericka, Recorder Tod Latell and Chief Magistrate Christopher J. Schiavone are planning to bring more awareness about how people can avoid the probate process.
The Good Deeds program offers Trumbull County residents advice on planning for the future of their assets before this is left up to the probate court upon one's death.
The court's first presentation, held earlier this month, drew 200-plus people interested in learning about the transfer of assets to a loved one. That session was Sept. 7 at St. Demetrios Community Center on Atlantic Street NE in Warren.
The next meetings will be:
• 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Old Fire House Community Center at 1864 Greenville Road NW in Bristolville;
• 6:30 p.m. Jan. 24 at SCOPE Niles Center, 14 E. State St., Niles.
"How you hold your property now will determine how it passes when you die," Fredericka said. "The message we're trying to send people is: You can save yourself and your family time and expenses by planning ahead."
The approximate hour-long presentation, hosted by the officials, covers topics ranging from real estate, motor vehicles, boats, mobile homes, bank accounts, life insurance, investments and wills.
GROWING NEED
All three officials said their offices saw a growing need in Trumbull County after seeing several instances of residents showing up with death certificates in hand.
"They say they need to transfer their parents' or spouse's property. But if they haven't been proactive to create a joint survivorship with that deed or transfer after death affidavit, it's too late," Latell said.
One reason Schiavone said people fail to be ahead of the curve is simple: "People have a hard time talking about end-of-life planning."
The magistrate shares during the presentation his own 12-year struggle to get his now-deceased father to plan ahead. "It took me that long to get him to sit down and sign documents," Schiavone said.
Even then, the mistake of not doing a survivorship deed beforehand put his family through the hassle of opening a smaller estate to resolve the issue.
Those interested are advised by the officials to seek legal advice from an attorney for bigger assets such as homes or IRAs to ensure their plan accomplishes their wishes.
OTHER RESOURCES
For those without an attorney, the program gives resources to contact the Trumbull County Bar Association to take advantage of its referral services to gain legal counsel.
Also included in the program, low-income residents can seek help from Community Legal Aid to help with the costs of hiring an attorney. Based on income level, the officials explained that people either can be supplied an attorney for free or a reduced amount.
"Especially for those people in that type of circumstance who can't afford it, those are the people who need to come and get information about what they can do, that won't cost them anything," Fredericka said.
Schiavone said over the last two years, the court has seen a "huge number" of real estate claims. Just last year, the probate court saw more than 1,300, according to the magistrate.
"Over the last 20 years, people have moved out of the county and the numbers we saw last year was the highest year since 2000 or 2001," Schiavone said.
This year's numbers are trending lower -- currently looking to top off at about 1,200, according to the court's estimate -- but still potentially meeting last year's high.
The initial success of the presentation has the court officials' eyes set on expanding to other areas in Trumbull County, eyeing Hubbard, Liberty and the west side of Warren as potential next steps.
"We're going to cover every area of the county, that's our goal," Fredericka said.
Latell added: "Every single person in this county is going to have to deal with this at some point in time. We don't live forever so this is a benefit to everyone to have this knowledge."