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"Avoid probate" is common estate planning advice, often stated as though probate is uniformly terrible. The reality is more complicated than that. Probate is a court-supervised process that exists to protect everyone involved (creditors, beneficiaries, and the public) when someone dies. For simple estates, it's often routine. For complex or large estates, it can be slow and expensive. Here's what it actually involves.
What probate does
When you die, your estate goes through probate unless your assets are structured to avoid it. The probate court:
1. Validates your will (or determines you died intestate) 2. Appoints an executor or administrator to manage the estate 3. Notifies creditors and allows them to make claims 4. Pays valid debts and taxes 5. Supervises distribution of what remains to beneficiaries
The executor, the person you named in your will, handles most of the actual work. The court supervises and approves key steps.
How long does probate take?
A straightforward probate in an uncrowded court might take 6 to 9 months. Complex estates, contested wills, or slow courts can push that to 2 or 3 years. The national average is roughly 12 to 18 months.
During probate, many assets are frozen. Your family generally can't sell the house, close bank accounts, or distribute assets until the court approves it. If your family needs liquidity during this period, it can be difficult.
What probate costs
Probate costs vary widely by state. Fees typically include:
• Court filing fees ($100–$1,000+) • Executor fees (often 2–4% of the estate value, though executors can waive this) • Attorney fees (if the executor hires one, which is common) • Appraisal fees for real estate or valuable property
For a $500,000 estate, total probate costs are often $15,000–$30,000 or more. Some states (California, for example) have statutory attorney fee schedules based on estate value that can be substantial.
Probate is public
Wills filed for probate become public records. Anyone can look up what you owned, who inherited it, and how much it was worth. For most people this doesn't matter much, but for those who value privacy or have complicated family situations, it matters.
What avoids probate
Several types of assets pass outside probate entirely:
• Beneficiary designations: IRAs, 401(k)s, life insurance policies, and many bank accounts transfer directly to the named beneficiary. These are among the most important estate planning decisions you can make. They generally control over what your will says.
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship: Property held jointly passes automatically to the surviving owner.
• Revocable living trust: Assets inside a properly funded trust transfer to beneficiaries without probate.
• Payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts: Bank and brokerage accounts with these designations pass directly to named beneficiaries.
Many people rely on beneficiary designations and a simple will. People more often add a trust when an estate is large, includes real estate in more than one state, or involves more complex planning.
Weighing probate against a trust
Many estates go through probate routinely. People with modest estates, uncomplicated family relationships, and no real estate in more than one state often rely on a simple will and beneficiary designations.
People who are deciding compare the cost of avoiding probate (creating and maintaining a trust, re-titling assets) with what probate would cost their estate.