Escape Probate Hassles with a Living Trust Strategy

Probate is a legal process that can happen after someone passes away, validating the person's will (if any), determining what property is part of the probate estate, paying off debts, and distributing the rest of the assets to the beneficiaries. Although that may be an important procedure, in order to ensure a person's final wishes are fulfilled it is often a tedious, lengthy and expensive process. Depending on the size of the estate and how busy the court is at the time, probate can last anywhere from a few months to more than a year1.