Good day, thank you! Is it possible to say if probate is required for a revocable living trust in VA, US? Details below.

Question

No house or vehicles. Just furniture, life insurance worth $60,000, bank account approx $3,000, liabilities approx $3,000. I am one of three executors in South Africa, Ireland, and the US respectively. One of us will be travelling to the US at whenever seems the best time.

Maria T Patente · Answer

My condolences on the passing of your friend or family member.  One of the primary purposes of creating a revocable living trust is that the trustmaker can dispose of assets upon his/her death and avoid probate.  In order to successfully by pass probate, (1) the trust must have been valid and (2) the title to property must have been transferred to the trustee of the trust during the trustmaker's lifetime.   When assets are found that were not properly transferred to the trustee during the trustmaker's lifetime, then those assets pass through probate.  Most people create a "pour over will", such that the assets that do go through probate are "poured" into the trust.  
    If you want to know if your trust will avoid probate, then you can have an attorney review the trust and the title of the assets that you listed.    In Virginia, there is a Small Estate Administration, which allows small estates to avoid the complexities of probate.  Therefore, if any assets were not titled in the name of the trust you could possibly use a Small Estate Affidavit instead of a full probate (requiring inventories, accounting, and probate taxes) to have title to those assets transferred to the trust.

Q: Good day, thank you! Is it possible to say if probate is required for a revocable living trust in VA, US? Details below.