Whether you have a will-based or a trust-based estate plan, there is often use of non-probate transfers rounding out the edges of the plan. These transfers take the form of payable on death (POD), transfer on death (TOD), and beneficiary designations. For example, most attorneys advise keeping vehicles outside of living trusts because of the fear that a minor fender bender will become a bigger issue if the other driver learns that a trust owns your vehicle. Obviously, anyone with a trust must be rich, so they will hire an aggressive attorney to capitalize on the opportunity. Will-based plans frequently use non-probate transfers in an effort to minimize what must pass through probate. Non-probate transfers can solve both situations.
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