Avoiding Probate A properly drafted revocable trust should avoid the need for your heirs to probate your estate , because the trust continues to live even after you die and, if properly funded, the property owned by the trust can be distributed to your heirs without the need to obtain court approval. Another way to look at it is that your trust must be fed in order to continue to live - properly funding your trust is an essential task. If done right, your estate will avoid the time-consuming and costly probate process. Most Americans don t have estates large enough to worry about estate taxes. Therefore, free lunch seminars that stress the tax advantages of living trusts are probably just trying to sell you snake oil.
Wills are a different matter.
Unlike the revocable trust, a will practically guarantees that your estate will need to be probated upon your death. This means that your private instructions regarding the distribution of your estate will now become public information. Often, wills are prepared along with a revocable trust as part of one s estate plan this is known as a pour-over will. Essentially, any property that was not previously funded into the trust will now pour-over into the trust and be distributed according to the written terms of the trust. If you don t have a will or revocable trust, you still have an estate plan .