Assets placed in the trust do not go through probate. The trust directs what happens to those assets and you do not need a regular Will (consider a Pour-over Will) or a probate proceeding in court for the assets to pass to your beneficiaries. Creating a living trust in Florida allows you to bypass probate proceedings which take months and incur additional cost. There is one catch however. A revocable living trust in Florida is liable for the debts of the grantor who dies and there is a two year period for claims to be filed. This means a trust cannot be fully paid out while those claims are pending. However, if probate is also filed for, this restriction is lifted and there is only a three month wait. Because of this, it often makes sense to file for probate anyhow, thus removing any time or cost savings that might have been avoided by just using a trust.
