How does a trust avoid probate?
A trust can be set up to immediately transfer a decedent’s assets to the intended beneficiaries, thereby expediting the process without the need to probate the estate. For example, placing assets and personal property into a trust before death (as opposed to a testamentary trust) often creates a proverbial “fast-track” in which the distribution of property and assets can be accomplished without the oversight of a probate court.
If you die without a trust, even if you have a will, your estate must go through probate if you own any real estate or have assets totaling over $100,000 in California. Even simple probates can take a year or more before the beneficiaries receive anything. If you have transferred your estate assets into a trust, when you die your assets will be simply handed over to your beneficiaries by your successor trustee, quite possibly within a few days after your death. Or, if you want your assets to be managed by your successor trustee and not turned over to your beneficiaries until they reach a certain age, that can be arranged by your trust agreement. When all assets have been turned over to the beneficiaries, the trust will no longer exist.
In order to expedite the process of transferring assets to intended beneficiaries, some people choose to arrange their property so that it can bypass the probate process upon their deaths. For example, placing property into a trust before death (as opposed to a testamentary trust) will often allow the accomplishment of the objectives of property distribution without coming under the jurisdiction of the probate court.
