Beth Pinsker: My mom had a trust, so why do we still need to go probate to settle her estate?

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A little probate never hurt anyone, that’s what I’m learning from the process of handling my mother’s posthumous affairs and the administration of her trust. 

Like many people, I had been under the impression that having a legal structure that delineates the distribution of a person’s assets meant you didn’t have to deal with probate – which means filing a will with the court system after a death – and it would be smooth sailing for closing bank accounts, selling her house and distributing the family heirlooms. 

“But…