http://www.masslawonline.com<br /><br />Massachusetts Estate Planning Lawyer Thomas Swain Smith explains the benefit of transferring real estate to your Revocable Living Trust:<br /><br />In order for you to take advantage of the probate-avoiding power of your Living Trust, you need to place your most valuable property, like real estate in the trust.<br /><br />If you own real estate jointly with a right of survivorship, with another person, such as a spouse, you do not need to transfer it into the trust in order to avoid probate. This property will go directly to the co-owner when you die. This is non-probate property.<br /><br />There are still good reasons to put this property into your trust, however. For instance, if you and your spouse pass away at the same time, such as in a car accident, and the property is held jointly instead of in your trust, this property will have to pass through probate and will be controlled your last will and testament.
