Learn · Trusts 101

I already have a will. Isn’t that enough?

Here’s the part almost nobody knows: a will does not avoid probate. A will is your instructions to the court, which means it still goes to court. All of it (public, slow, months to a year) still happens. The will just tells the judge how you wanted things handled.

A revocable trust is different. It skips court entirely. The assets in it pass straight to the people you named, privately, usually in weeks instead of a year.

That doesn’t make a will useless. You still want one. It’s the backstop for anything you didn’t put in the trust, and it’s where you name guardians for young kids. The two work together: the will catches the leftovers, the trust does the real work of keeping your family out of court.

If you only have a will right now, you’ve done more than most people. You’ve just done the paperwork, not the part that saves your family the courtroom.

This is educational only, not legal or tax advice.

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