Living Trusts Glossary

Probate is the legal process that the courts use to implement your will. Probate typically takes six months to three years to complete. It may also require the service of a lawyer. Even if you die without a will, your estate must still pass through the probate system. In that case, the court will decide how to distribute your estate among your relatives.

A living trust can help avoid probate. The reason for this is because if your assets are placed into a trust, you do not "own" the assets, the trust does. You still control the trust assets as if they were your own. When you die, you do not "own" anything in your trust and therefore, you avoid probate for the assets placed into the trust.