Should I Transfer Assets to a Living Trust to Avoid Probate?

One of the principal goals of any revocable living trust is to avoid probate and the costs and delays associated with it, with the general rule being that the more an asset is worth, the more it will cost your estate on probate fees. It follows therefore that you should, at the very least, consider transferring your most valuable assets to your revocable living trust. However, it is entirely up to you to decide to transfer assets to a living trust, and which assets to include or leave out of your revocable living trust.

You are free to transfer assets to a living trust as you please, including assets such as your home and other real estate, bank and saving accounts, investments, business interests, antiques, jewelry, personal belongings, royalties, patents, copyrights, stocks, bonds and other securities, money market accounts and so on.

In deciding to transfer assets to a living trust, always bear in mind that where you are acting as both the grantor and trustee of your own trust, you always have the right to call for the return of any assets you transfer into the revocable living trust.

The reality is that you don’t need to put everything into your revocable living trust in order to save money on probate. For example, there is no need to include items in your revocable living trust which can pass to designated beneficiaries automatically and outside of the probate net. Such assets include jointly held assets, pay on death accounts, transfer on death securities, insurance proceeds, etc. Remember, you are free to transfer assets to a living trust at your discretion and to also demand a return of those assets at your discretion.

How Can EstateBee Help You? 

For more information on revocable living trusts, check out some of the other articles on our website and our discussion forum.

Alternatively, if you would like some more in-depth information on living trusts, check out our Living Trust Kit and our book Make Your Own Living Trust and Avoid Probate. Each will guide you step-by-step through the matters you need to consider when making a living trust. You’ll learn all you need to know about living trusts, their advantages and disadvantages, the tax implications, the alternatives to living trusts and, of course, how to easily make your own. With detailed information, easy-to-follow instructions, helpful worksheets and all of the forms necessary, we show both individuals and couples how to avoid the otherwise inevitable delays and costs of probate by preparing a revocable living trust and using other simple probate avoidance strategies.

If you have any questions regarding living trusts, feel free to contact our customer service team who would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

If you are considering a trust, review the EstateBee online Revocable Living Trust product details alongside the funding steps discussed in the guides below.

Related reading: How to Fund a Revocable Living Trust; What Assets Go in a Living Trust?; Beneficiary Designations, Wills and Living Trusts.

Check the funding steps before transferring your assets

Prefer guided questions? Prepare your revocable living trust with our online document generator, then follow the steps to fund it.

Create your living trust online

One of the biggest problems associated with living trusts is the failure to properly transfer assets into the trust itself. This act of transferring assets is commonly referred to as ‘funding the trust’.

From Living Trust Kit, 2026 Fourth Edition — Revocable Living Trusts — Funding.

Prefer a downloadable guide? Plan your trustees and beneficiaries with forms for individuals and couples, a Living Trust Worksheet, and guidance on funding. The guide explains the transfers needed to place suitable assets in your trust.

U.S. guidance; not intended for Louisiana. Signing a trust does not itself transfer your assets.

View Living Trust Kit — 2026 Fourth Edition PDF download