A will doesn’t protect anything. A will says who you want to receive your assets. A house has to go through probate because you can only pass it to someone without probate if you have it in a trust. A trust is a much better estate planning vehicle for what a will doesn’t protect. When you have beneficiary-driven assets such as a bank account, retirement and life insurance, that goes strictly straight to your beneficiary and doesn’t have to go to court. That is why some people can avoid probate if they don’t have a house.nnIf someone doesn’t have a house but has cars, furniture, paintings or other things they may want some people to have but are not worth $184,500, they don’t have to go through probate. Also, if you have $300,000 in a bank, you can make it a beneficiary-driven asset and avoid probate. However, you still need a will to cover other beneficiary-driven items.