One of the biggest myths and most understood concepts that we come across when we talk to people about estate planning is that a trust will avoid probate. That is only partially true, but it’s not the whole story. Trusts by themselves cannot and do not avoid probate Sadly, we meet too many families after the fact that had grandparents, parents, or other loved ones who operated on this common misunderstanding that a trust alone would be their family’s salvation from probate. Instead, the estate ends up in probate while the family is left holding what we call broken trust. Make no mistake, trusts are very important and essential to many estate plans (especially in California), however there is another key component that needs to be put in place that is too often overlooked.
Watch our short Trusts & Probate video to learn more.
