Avoiding probate doesn't have to be complicated. You can take simple steps to ensure that certain types of property pass to your heirs without going to probate court. (To learn about probate and its downsides, see Nolo's article Why Avoid Probate?) One of the easiest methods is to have your bank accounts, retirement accounts, security registrations, vehicle registrations, and real estate deeds automatically transfer property at the time your death.

 (To learn about other ways to avoid probate, see Nolo's article How to Avoid Probate.)

Payable-on-Death Bank Accounts

Payable-on-death bank accounts offer one of the easiest ways to keep money -- even large sums of it -- out of probate. All you need to do is fill out a simple form, provided by the bank, naming the person you want to inherit the money in the account at your death.

As long as you are alive, the person you named to inherit the money in a payable-on-death (POD) account has no rights to it. You can spend the money, name a different beneficiary, or close the account.

At your death, the beneficiary just goes to the bank, shows proof of the death and of his or her identity, and collects whatever funds are in the account. The probate court is never involved.

If you and your spouse have a joint account, when the first spouse dies, the funds in the account will probably become the property of the survivor, without probate. If you add a POD designation, it will take effect only when the second spouse dies.

Retirement Accounts

When you open a retirement plan account such as an IRA or 401(k), the forms you fill out will ask you to name a beneficiary for the account. After your death, whatever funds are left in the account will not have to go through probate; the beneficiary you named can claim the money directly from the account custodian.

If you're single, you're free to choose whomever you want as the beneficiary. If you're married, your spouse may have rights to some or all of the money:

• If you have a 401(k) account, your spouse is entitled to inherit the money unless he or she agrees, in writing, to your choice of someone else.
• If you live in a community property state, chances are your spouse owns half of what you have socked away in a retirement account. (Community property states are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin; in Alaska, couples can sign an agreement making some or all of their property community property.) If any of the money you contributed was earned while you were married, that money remains "community property," and your spouse owns half.

Transfer-on-Death Securities Registration

Almost every state has adopted a law (the Uniform Transfer-on-Death Securities Registration Act) that lets you name someone to inherit your stocks, bonds or brokerage accounts without probate. It works very much like a payable-on-death bank account. When you register your ownership, either with the stockbroker or the company itself, you make a request to take ownership in what's called "beneficiary form." When the papers that show your ownership are issued, they will also show the name of your beneficiary.

After you have registered ownership this way, the beneficiary has no rights to the stock as long as you are alive. But after your death, the beneficiary can claim the securities without probate, simply by providing proof of death and some identification to the broker or transfer agent. (A transfer agent is a business that is authorized by a corporation to transfer ownership of its stock from one person to another.)

Transfer-on-Death Registration for Vehicles

Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio and Vermont offer car owners the sensible option of naming a beneficiary, right on their certificate of registration, to inherit a vehicle. If you do this, the beneficiary you name has no rights as long as you are alive. You are free to sell or give away the car, or name someone else as the beneficiary.

To name a transfer-on-death beneficiary, all you do is register the vehicle in "beneficiary form." The new registration certificate will list the name of the beneficiary, who will automatically own the vehicle after your death. You can find more information on your state's motor vehicles department website.

Transfer-on-Death Deeds for Real Estate

In some states, you can prepare a deed now but have it take effect only at your death. These transfer-on-death deeds must be prepared, signed, notarized and recorded (filed in the county land records office) just like a regular deed. But unlike a regular deed, you can revoke a transfer-on-death deed. The deed must expressly state that it does not take effect until death.

States that allow TOD deeds are Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin.