The New York Times, in an article from 2011, discusses that avoiding probate with a revocable living trust is a very good strategy. Using a revocable living trust can avoid the probate system in which a will is determined to be valid or not valid and the estate is administered by the Court. It is important to note that only assets in the trust avoid probate. As such, it is very important to have your trust updated and to include assets into to your trust which were acquired after the trust was executed.
Even if you have a revocable living trust, some assets will avoid probate even though not placed into the trust. Examples of this are retirement assets, life insurance, savings bonds as well as some jointly titled accounts such as bank and brokerage accounts. It is very important that your wishes are carried out, after death, and having joint accounts allows access by another which may not be the testator’s wishes after death.
We would be pleased to discuss your estate planning needs. Please contact us to set up a confidential and complimentary consultation.