Do trusts avoid probate?

So, just having a trust doesn’t avoid probate, but a properly set up trust can avoid probate. Let’s first briefly explain probate. Probate is a court process required for someone’s estate when they die with assets in their name alone, and with no direct beneficiary designation — usually being assets like a house, bank account, or investments. The Pro bank process will take months, and in some cases, over, or well over, a year to complete. So it takes time and can also be costly, with court costs and attorneys’ fees.

But a revocable living trust is a legal tool, tool, where you instead transfer ownership of certain assets into the trust while you are alive. You still control everything, but when you pass away, the assets in the trust don’t have to go through probate. Instead, they directly go to your chosen beneficiaries, and they are generally distributed privately and much faster. But there’s a catch. Just creating the trust isn’t enough. You also have to properly fund the trust, meaning you actually have to retitle your assets into the name of the trust. And if that step is skipped, those assets might still go through probate. And we’ve seen many large and expensive trusts over the years, especially from clients moving from other states where the trusts weren’t properly funded, which often defeats much, or all, the reason for preparing that trust in the first place.

So yes, a trust avoids probate if it’s properly set up and funded, but no, it doesn’t avoid probate if it’s empty or done incorrectly. And that’s why it’s important to work with someone who understands both the legal and practical steps involved with trust and estate planning.