Probate Avoidance
Probate Avoidance Planning
Many families want to spare their loved ones the time, cost, and public nature of probate. Missouri law offers several tools to accomplish this when a plan is properly drafted and, just as importantly, properly funded. O’Gorman and Sandroni help clients build plans that actually achieve probate avoidance rather than leaving gaps.
Tools for Avoiding Probate
A properly funded revocable living trust, transfer-on-death and payable-on-death designations, and jointly titled property with rights of survivorship can each allow assets to pass outside of probate. The right combination depends on the types of assets involved and family circumstances.
Why Funding Matters as Much as Drafting
A trust that is never funded, meaning assets are never actually retitled into the trust’s name, provides none of the probate avoidance benefits it was designed to offer. We help clients complete the funding process and periodically review titling to ensure the plan continues to work as intended.
Frequently Asked Questions
A properly funded trust generally avoids probate for the assets it holds, but any assets left outside the trust and not otherwise covered by a beneficiary designation may still require probate.
For the specific accounts they cover, yes, but beneficiary designations alone don’t address other assets, family circumstances, or contingencies the way a comprehensive plan can.
Since 1985 Sean O’Gorman and Andrew Sandroni have been representing clients in all areas of the law. O’Gorman & Sandroni, P.C. was founded in 1989 on the principles of honesty, integrity, and the aggressive pursuit of our client’s goals.