Is there a way to avoid probate?

Is there a way to avoid probate?

There are several ways to avoid probate. Before I address that question, however, I want to disabuse people of the notion that probate is necessarily all bad. In fact, probate can be a good way to ensure that an estate passes, subject to court approval, the way the decedent wanted. That said, I can also offer these alternatives to the probate of a will. Assets can all be put into joint tenancy ownership. Another way to avoid probate is the creation of living trusts, the funding of those trusts during lifetime and then the disposition of the trust estate by the terms of the trust at the death of the person who created the trust, which, if done right, can avoid probate all together.