Probate can be described as the legal process of estate administration. When a will is used, it is admitted to probate. The executor that is named in the will handles the administrative duties under the supervision of the court.
When someone dies with a will or a trust, the probate court would preside over the matter. A personal representative would be empowered by the court, and this individual would serve as the administrator.
There are some types of transactions that take place outside of probate. It is also possible to proactively implement a probate avoidance strategy when you are planning your estate. You may want to do this because probate is time-consuming and expensive.
Let’s look at some of the asset transfers that are not subject to the probate process.
Payable on Death Accounts
When you open an account at a bank or a brokerage, you can make it a payable on death or transfer on death account. You would add a beneficiary, and this individual would not have access to the funds while you are alive.
After your passing, the beneficiary would obtain a death certificate and present it to the institution. If everything is in order, the funds would be released to the beneficiary. The probate court would not be involved in this transfer.
While this can seem like a simple solution, there are some negatives. You may not be given the ability to allow for distributions of different percentages to multiple beneficiaries. Plus, if you tell the beneficiary to distribute the assets in a certain way, they would not be legally bound to follow the verbal instructions.
Life Insurance Proceeds
If you take out an insurance policy on your life, the company would pay the proceeds to the beneficiary or beneficiaries as long as you die under covered circumstances. The distribution of these funds would not be subject to the probate process.
Joint Tenancy
If you own property, you can add a co-owner to the title or deed. This is called joint tenancy, and it comes with right of survivorship. If you predecease the other joint tenant, they would become the sole owner of the property, and this would be a probate-free transfer.
That may sound great on the surface, but joint tenancy is very risky. The joint tenant would own half of the property as soon as you add them to your ownership document. As a result, if you wanted to sell the property, you would need the cooperation of the joint tenant.
When joint tenancy exists, the other owner’s legal problems become your problems. Half of the property would be in play if the joint tenant is forced to pay a legal judgment. This would also apply to tax liens.
Revocable Living Trusts
You can accomplish all of your objectives in a safe, efficient way and avoid probate altogether if you use a revocable living trust as the centerpiece of your estate plan. When you establish this type of trust, you can act as the trustee and the beneficiary initially, so there is no loss of control.
After your passing, the successor trustee that you name in the trust declaration would distribute the assets in accordance with your wishes outside of probate. This is one benefit, but there are many others that we will cover in another blog post.
Check Out Our Special Reports!
We have prepared some special reports that cover all the most important topics. You can learn a lot if you take the time to read some of them, and you can access any or all of them free of charge. To see the titles, visit our special reports page.
Take Action Today!
Now is the time for action if you are going through life without a plan, and if your existing plan is outdated, we can suggest the appropriate revisions.
To schedule a consultation at our Phoenix, AZ estate planning office call us at 888-222-1328, and you can fill out our contact form if you would like to send us a message.
- Do All AZ Estates Go Through the Full Probate Process? - October 1, 2026
- New Arizona Transplant? Schedule an Estate Plan Review - September 24, 2026
- Trusts in Estate Planning: Separating Fact From Fiction - September 17, 2026
Flagstaff
