Wills And Estate
Estate and Probate Avoidance Package
Six worksheets that find the assets which would go through probate, and the steps that keep them out of it.
Available product levels
Complete Legal Packages
$99.99Multi-document workflows for complex legal matters.
When to use this document
- Reviewing how your assets are titled before it matters
- Making sure beneficiary designations match your will
- Funding a trust you have already signed
- Organising where everything is, so an executor can find it
- Recording who gets specific personal items
Information you will need
- Every asset you own and how each is currently titled
- Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, insurance, and payable-on-death accounts
- Whether a trust exists and which assets have been transferred into it
- The institutions holding each asset, and their contact details
- Where documents are physically kept, and who can locate them
- Your advisers, and the state whose rules apply
What you receive
- Probate avoidance assessment worksheet
- Asset titling review worksheet
- Beneficiary designation review worksheet
- Institution notification letters
- Personal property memorandum
- Estate organizer and location record
- All six as separate PDF or DOCX files
Special situations
- A signed but unfunded trust does nothing for assets that were never transferred into it. Funding is the step people skip, and it is the one that matters.
- Beneficiary designations override your will. If the designation on file is out of date, the will does not fix it.
- Adding someone as a joint owner is a present transfer of ownership, not a convenience. It exposes the asset to their creditors and divorce, immediately.
- Avoiding probate and protecting assets from creditors are different objectives, and some steps that achieve one defeat the other.
- Retirement accounts are treated differently from other assets, and an ordinary retitling can trigger immediate tax. Take advice before moving one.
- This package states no estate tax threshold, rate, or calculation.
Jurisdiction
Titling rules, transfer-on-death availability, community property treatment, and whether a personal property memorandum is recognised at all are set by state law and vary considerably. This package states no threshold and no jurisdiction-specific rule.
Frequently asked questions
Does having a will avoid probate?
No. A will directs who receives what, but the estate generally still goes through probate for assets that pass under it. Avoiding probate is about how assets are titled and designated, which is what these worksheets review.
I signed a trust. Am I done?
Probably not. A trust only controls assets actually transferred into it, and unfunded trusts are extremely common. The funding review is the part that makes the trust do anything.
Should I add my child to my bank account?
It is a present transfer of ownership, not a convenience arrangement. The account becomes exposed to their creditors and divorce immediately, and on your death it may pass entirely to them regardless of what your will says. There are usually better tools.
What is a personal property memorandum?
A separate list of who receives specific personal items, referenced by your will. Where recognised it can be updated without redoing the will. Whether it is recognised, and for what, depends on your state.
Will this reduce estate tax?
This package makes no tax assessment and supplies no threshold or rate. Probate avoidance and estate tax are different questions, and the second one needs an adviser.
Related documents and guides
Answer the questions, preview the document, and pay only when you are ready to download.
Last reviewed July 29, 2026.