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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Gratia Schoemakers
      • Community Outreach Program
    • Testimonials
  • Virtual Services
  • Estate Planning
    • Estate Planning Basics
    • Last Will and Testament
    • Revocable Living Trusts
    • Durable Power of Attorney
    • Medical Power of Attorney
    • Living Will
    • Family Estate Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning & Asset Protection
    • Kids Safety Plan™
    • Business Succession Planning
    • Guardianship
      • Guardianship Planning
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Legacy Preservation Planning
    • Asset Protection
    • Trusts
    • Pet Trusts
    • Gun Trusts
  • Probate
    • Texas Probate Guide
    • Probate of a Will
    • Texas Affidavit of Heirship
    • Texas Small Estate Affidavit
    • Texas Heirship Determination
    • Texas Muniment of Title
    • Trust Administration
  • Family Law
    • Divorce
    • Collaborative Divorce
    • Mediation
    • Custody / Visitation
  • Blog
  • FAQs
    • FAQs – Videos
    • FAQs – Estate Planning
    • FAQs – Beyond Money in Estate Planning
    • FAQs – Divorce and Estate Planning FAQs and Myths
    • FAQs – Estate Planning for Newlyweds Myths and FAQs
    • FAQs – Estate Planning for Young Adults
    • FAQs – The Estate Planning Cast of Characters
    • FAQs – Expecting an Inheritance
    • FAQs – Myths and FAQs – Planning for Conflict Prone Families
    • FAQs – New and Expanding Families
    • FAQs – Pet Trusts
    • FAQs – Probate
    • FAQs – Standalone Retirement Trust Myths and FAQs
    • FAQs – Trust Modifications
    • FAQs – Unwinding Obsolete Planning
    • FAQs – Why You Want to Avoid Probate
    • FAQs – Year-End Planning Myths and FAQs
  • Contact
    • Virtual Estate Planning Login
    • Client Portal

Will Your Revocable Living Trust Avoid Probate? It Depends.

July 1, 2014 By Gratia P. Schoemakers, Esq.

If you’ve set up a Revocable Living Trust, congratulations!  You’re definitely on the right track. But… you’re only halfway there. Many believe because they took the time to create a Trust, their estate will automatically avoid probate.  Unfortunately, this is a false sense of security.

The key to probate avoidance is proper asset ownership, including the full funding of your Revocable Living Trust.

What are Probate Assets?

What assets require probate?

  • Accounts and real estate titled in your sole, individual name [without a payable on death (POD) or transfer on death (TOD) designation]
  • Accounts and real estate you own as a tenant in common
  • Contract assets naming your estate as beneficiary

What Assets Avoid Probate?

What assets automatically avoid probate after you die and, therefore, do not need to be funded (or cannot be funded) into your trust?

  • Accounts and real estate owned as joint tenants with rights of survivorship
  • Accounts and real estate owned as tenants by the entirety
  • Life insurance
  • Retirement accounts, including IRAs, 401(k)s, and annuities
  • Life estate property
  • Payable on death (POD) and transfer on death (TOD) accounts and, in some states, transfer on death or beneficiary deeds

What’s the Next Step?

Ask a qualified estate planning attorney to confirm that your Revocable Living Trust is fully funded and that all assets are aligned with your estate planning.  Proper asset ownership is key to probate avoidance.

Filed Under: Estate Planning Tagged With: Annuity, Insurance, IRA, Life Insurance, Living Trust, POD, Probate, Revocable Trust, TOD, Trust, Will

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