How to avoid probate online: trust, beneficiary designations, or both

Probate is the court process that proves a will, pays debts and hands out what is left. It is not a disaster, but it is public, it takes time, and it costs money. California’s courts, for example, say formal probate “typically takes 9 to 18 months” and that the court filing fee is typically $435 before the fees for the executor and lawyer, which are generally set by law as a percentage of the estate.

The good news is that probate only reaches what passes under your will. Most of what most people own can be routed around it, and much of that is free. This page sets out every tool, in the order worth doing them. State details come from official court and statute sites; plan prices from each company’s own pages, read on the date in the facts table. This is general information, not legal advice.

The tools, from free to paid

Tool	Cost	Covers	Misses
Beneficiary forms on retirement accounts and life insurance	Free	Those accounts	Nothing else
Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death on bank and brokerage accounts	Free	Those accounts	Real estate in most cases
Joint ownership with right of survivorship	Free	The first death, between spouses	The second death; risky with children
Transfer-on-death deed (where allowed)	Recording fee	Your home	Incapacity; money for children
Your state’s small-estate procedure	Low	Whatever is left, if under the limit	Anything over the limit
Revocable living trust	From $149 online	Everything you put in it, plus incapacity	Assets you forget to put in

Step 1: Fix the free designations first

Before buying anything, check the forms that already control most of your money:

• 401(k), 403(b), IRA: these pass to the beneficiary named on the plan’s form, whatever your will says. Name a primary and a contingent beneficiary.
• Life insurance: same. Do not name minor children directly; name your trust or a custodian.
• Bank accounts: ask for a payable-on-death beneficiary form.
• Brokerage accounts: ask for transfer-on-death registration.

For a renter with savings and a retirement account, this step alone may keep the whole estate out of probate.

Step 2: Decide what to do about the house

Real estate is what usually forces probate. You have two main routes.

A transfer-on-death deed, where your state allows one. California’s courts describe it as a simple form you fill out, notarise and record with the county recorder; if you change your mind, you can revoke it. New York’s statute requires the deed to be signed before two witnesses and a notary and recorded before death. It costs only the recording fee. It does not help if you become incapacitated, and it cannot hold money back for children.

A living trust. You deed the house into the trust, and at your death your successor trustee transfers it without court. It also covers incapacity and lets you set rules for children’s inheritances. It costs more and requires funding: see our funding guide.

If you own property in more than one state, a trust is the cleaner answer, because a deed approach needs each state to allow transfer-on-death deeds and each property to be done separately.

Step 3: Check what is left against your state’s small-estate limit

Every state has a simplified procedure for small estates. California’s courts list $208,850 for personal property, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, with separate limits for real property and a primary home. If what would be left in your own name after steps 1 and 2 falls under your state’s limit, your family can use the short procedure even without a trust.

Step 4: Make a will anyway

No plan catches everything. A car, a tax refund, an inheritance you receive late in life: something always ends up in your own name. A will (or a pour-over will with a trust) decides where it goes, and it is the only place to nominate a guardian for young children. FreeWill makes one for Free.

Which online plans help?

Plan	Trust	Transfer-on-death deed	Funding help	Price
Quicken WillMaker & Trust Plus	Yes	Yes	Manual only	$149
Trust & Will trust	Yes	No	Deed partner, $140 per deed, plus recording fees	$499
LegalZoom Basic Trust	Yes	No	Deed service, $249, plus state filing fees	$399
GoodTrust Estate+	Yes	No	None published	$149
FreeWill	California only	No	None	Free, California residents only

Which route is right for you?

• No home, accounts with beneficiaries: free designations plus a will. You probably do not need to buy anything beyond a will.
• One home, state with a transfer-on-death deed, simple wishes: designations, a transfer-on-death deed and a will. WillMaker Plus includes both the deed and a trust if you want to keep options open.
• Home in a slow-probate state, children, or a wish to plan for incapacity: a living trust, funded. Our living trust comparison compares the options.
• Property in two states: a living trust holding both.

Your probate-avoidance checklist

1. List every asset and how it passes now: beneficiary, joint, or your name alone.
2. Update every beneficiary form, with backups.
3. Add payable-on-death and transfer-on-death to bank and brokerage accounts.
4. Choose a route for real estate: transfer-on-death deed or trust.
5. If a trust, fund it in the same month you sign it.
6. Sign a will as the backstop.
7. Review every few years, and after any marriage, divorce, death or move.