Yes — but only for assets that are properly titled in the name of the trust. This is the single biggest mistake people make: they create a trust but never transfer (or “fund”) their assets into it.
For real estate, this means recording a new deed transferring the property from your name into the trust’s name. For bank and investment accounts, it usually means retitling the account or updating beneficiary designations to point to the trust.
If an asset is left out of the trust — say, a bank account you forgot to retitle — that asset will likely still need to go through probate, even though you have a trust. The trust only controls what’s actually inside it.
This is why estate planning attorneys often recommend periodic reviews: new accounts, new property, or refinanced mortgages can accidentally leave assets outside the trust without you realizing it.
When properly funded, a trust can avoid probate entirely for most or all of your estate. It just requires follow-through after the trust documents are signed — funding the trust is just as important as creating it.
