The majority of the people who set up a living trust do not avoid probate. Some in the legal community are coming out in opposition to living trusts since so many clients are not really getting the probate protection they thought they were getting. This isn’t a problem with the trust. The drawback is how the attorneys are educating their clients. Most of them don’t give the client enough education, and they don’t know how to "use" their living trust, so the trust fails to avoid probate.
The deceased’s assets will need to be probated if the living trust does not function properly. Going through a long legal process at the probate court will be necessary at this point. When there is a will, the probate court will use it to help them make decisions throughout the probate proceedings. When there is no will, it becomes what is called an "intestate" proceeding. When someone dies without a will, he or she is said to be "intestate".
When you get a revocable living trust, you should also get a pour over will. When assets need to be probated, the probate courts will use the pour over will to help them through the process. If all goes well, nothing will need to be probated and the pour over will won’t be used.
A standard will distributes the property outright, unlike the pour over will which does not. When property needs to be probated, the pour over will tells the court that all of the property should be "poured over" into the living revocable trust, and then distributed as outlined in the living trust will. Lee R. Phillips’ new book, Guaranteed Millionaire discusses revocable living trusts and pour over wills in detail. When you order Guaranteed Millionaire, you will receive absolutely FREE the DVD, "Using the Law to Make Money and Protect Your Assets". You will get $5 off when you order by the end of the month.
What People Have To Say …
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-D.A., Haverhill, MA