One of the most effective tools in the estate planning process is a trust, which can offer significant advantages-including the ability to bypass the often lengthy and costly probate process. Trusts, ...

Editor’s note: This is part one of an ongoing series about using trusts and LLCs in estate planning, asset protection and tax planning. The effectiveness of these powerful tools — especially for asset ...

Unlike a will, a living trust does not go through probate, which can save time and reduce legal costs. This can help ...

Going through the hassle of creating a trust can be a tricky process, but doing all the work just to leave it empty can ...

When planning for the transfer of assets after death, two terms come up often: probate and trust. Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will, paying debts and distributing assets to ...

Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and ...

Most Americans know the folly of dying without a will. Under the widely different state formulas devised for such cases, a widow can lose one-half of her husband’s estate to his relatives. Equally ...

There are good reasons people want their estates to avoid probate, and a lot of ways to do it. Probate can tie up the estate for months or longer and incur extra expenses. While some states and ...

Q. How can we avoid probate and reduce the estate tax for our beneficiaries, who are our two adult children? We know about payable on death (POD) bank accounts. Is it better to put our two houses in ...

If you own your home in California you should have a revocable trust and an estate plan to avoid the substantial expense of ...

Learn how probate validates a will, pays debts, and distributes assets to heirs. State intestacy laws apply when there is no ...

Don't let common inheritance myths derail your family's future. Learn the truths about taxes, wills, and assets so you can ...