I'm pretty sure my attorney said a will still goes through probate. It may be different if there is a living spouse, as my understanding has always been that the spouse automatically inherits everything. I don't specifically remember hearing him say that, but he did say a will still goes through probate, but still it's better to have than to not. It is much harder to contest a valid will than if none exists, or if it is unclear, so that's why I say probate is probably much quicker and less complicated with a will.
I assume this is to allow time for anyone to contest the will, but ultimately a judge declares it a valid will.
As I understand it (and I may not) a trust is its own legal entity, so everything that belongs to my trust, technically, is not owned by me personally, it is owned by the trust. As the administrator, I have complete control over how it is used, sold, etc. but it belongs to the trust, not to me. When I die, it therefore will not change hands, it will still be owned by the trust, and will be under the control of whoever the next administrator is. So whichever between me and my wife survives longest controls the trust, once the second of us passes everything STILL belongs to the trust, but the next administrator will settle everything and distribute the estate to our heirs, as directed in our will (so we have a will also, but I'm not entirely certain how that works, if it is PART of the trust, or technically how that is described). I also remember him saying that some things would still go to probate, for example if we did not transfer our cars into the trust they would be probated, but if we put them in the name of the trust, they belong to the trust and not subject to probate.
This was all a year or two ago, so I stand subject to be corrected, but that's what I remember him saying.
this sounds pretty accurate to me.
Unfortunately I'll learn all this very soon as my mother is very old and has some serious health issues going on now, that could be terminal (cancer). She begins chemo tomorrow and if it doesnt work, its her last option,
My father is in horrible condition and I dont know if he'll make it to see 85. He just turned 84 Sunday.