There’s a reason why many people seek to avoid probate: It can be time-consuming, expensive and difficult to understand. There are some ways to avoid probate. Among them, you can establish a Lifetime Revocable Trust, which requires you to transfer all of your assets and other securities from personal ownership to the trust. When you die, any additional property that was not put into the trust can be transferred using a “pour-over will.” Probate can also be avoided if you own joint property. When you pass away, the property will pass to the surviving joint owner. Finally, some assets, such as life insurance policies and pension funds, will not go into the probate process and will pass directly to the contract beneficiary.