How A Living Trust Can Help Your Family Avoid Probate In Massachusetts
Probate in Massachusetts can be time-consuming, expensive, and stressful for surviving family members. Many people are surprised to learn that a will does not avoid probate — it simply directs the probate process. A living trust, however, can allow your assets to pass to your beneficiaries without court involvement.
This is one of the leading reasons Massachusetts residents choose living trusts as part of their estate plan.
What Is Probate And Why Do Families Try To Avoid It?
Probate is the court-supervised process of:
- validating a will
- identifying heirs
- notifying creditors
- paying debts and taxes
- distributing remaining assets
The process can take months or even years depending on the size of the estate and whether conflicts arise. It is also public, meaning your financial information becomes court record.
Families seek to avoid probate because it may cause:
- delays in access to funds
- additional legal costs and court fees
- family conflict
- loss of privacy
- administrative burden during grief
A properly drafted and funded living trust can prevent most or all of these issues.
How A Living Trust Avoids Probate
When you place assets into a living trust, the trust — not you individually — becomes the legal owner. Upon death, the successor trustee distributes assets to your beneficiaries according to the instructions in the trust document.
Assets titled to the trust:
- do not go through probate
- transfer more quickly
- remain private
- avoid multiple probate proceedings for property in other states
Examples of assets commonly placed into trusts include:
- real estate
- bank accounts
- brokerage accounts
- investment property
- business interests
A Living Trust Helps During Incapacity — Not Just Death
Unlike a will, a living trust also functions during your lifetime. If you become incapacitated due to illness or accident, your successor trustee can step in immediately to manage your finances — without court involvement.
Without a trust, your family may need guardianship or conservatorship proceedings, which add stress and legal expense during an already difficult time.
Proper Trust Funding Is Essential
A trust only avoids probate if assets are actually transferred into it. Simply signing trust documents is not sufficient.
Trust funding requires:
- new real estate deeds
- bank account retitling
- updated beneficiary designations
- transfer of brokerage and investment accounts
Many people create trusts but do not fund them correctly — leading to avoidable probate.
Call The Sullivan Firm P.C. Today!
A living trust can give your family efficiency, privacy, and peace of mind. We help clients throughout Gloucester and the North Shore create and properly fund trusts that actually work when families need them most.
Call The Sullivan Firm P.C. at 978-325-2721 to discuss whether a living trust is right for your estate plan.
