Or they could have named a friend to be the trustee. Also, there is no requirement that the trustee be one of their children. This would mean that the assets in the trust would be used for the benefit of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith. The trust could stipulate that upon the death of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith that the assets should go to their two children. If the trust does this, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith have avoided probate.
Probate refers to the legal process of passing property to one's heirs after one dies.
Probate is costly since it involves having to go to court and thus requires quite a bit of work by an attorney. In addition, probate is time consuming and delays the actual passing of property by many months. A properly drafted trust can save your assets from the high cost of nursing home care. An improperly drafted trust will not safeguard your assets from the high cost of nursing home care. In addition, a properly drafted trust will avoid costly probate proceedings.