---
title: "Estate Litigation: Assets Without Beneficiaries"
description: ways to avoid litigation in an estate
image: https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/Canva%20images/Canva%20Design%20DAEhjjwtf4s.png
---
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06/16/2021
# Estate Litigation: Assets Without Beneficiaries
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This is primarily a note on how to **avoid** at least part of an estate litigation amongst your heirs. The simplest methodology for ensuring your assets go where you want them to go is to name a beneficiary.
Estate ligation involves assets that do not have beneficiaries named. The explanation simply is that assets with beneficiaries are not part of a probated estate. You can name a beneficiary in White Bear Lake while your probate is ongoing in Washington County and that asset (and the White Bear Lake domiciled beneficiary) will not be a part of the probate litigation.
Effectively this reduces what is at issue in the litigation. Functionally, the smaller the pot that people are fighting over, the more likely they are to reach a settlement. In my experience, most litigants appreciate the economics of paying for a litigation versus resolving the dispute, even if the resolution is not the best or preferred result.
Bring me your estate planning questions or estate litigation cases for analysis. I'll guide you in the right direction to ensure your estate goes where you want, not where a judge decides.
- [estate planning](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/estate-planning)
## [Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin)
Dan is a lifelong resident of Minnesota. Born in St. Paul, Dan spent many of his formative years growing up there before moving to White Bear Lake. After graduating from White Bear Lake, Dan spent four glorious years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in two majors. Dan worked as a Senior Investigator at the Minnesota Department of Commerce for several years after graduating from college. During his final years Dan attended William Mitchell College of Law while still working full-time. During this exhausting 3 ½ year period Dan honed his skills in becoming an efficient, to-the-point legal practitioner. While at Madison Dan met his wife, Tonya, and together they moved to Minnesota to plant their roots. Dan and Tonya have two amazing, unique children and reside in Hugo.
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