I own a house and have no trust — will my family have to go through probate?

By Fidelis Solutions · Published May 21, 2026

I own a house and have no trust — will my family have to go through probate?

Yes. If your home is titled in your individual name and you have no trust, beneficiary deed, or joint tenancy arrangement, your family will almost certainly face probate — a court-supervised process that can take 6 to 18 months and consume 3 to 7% of your estate's value in fees [American Bar Association, Probate & Property Magazine, 2024]. A revocable living trust or a recorded transfer-on-death deed eliminates this outcome for real property.

How this works

Uniform Probate Code §1-201 defines the triggering condition: when real property is titled solely in a decedent's individual name, that asset must pass through the probate court of the decedent's domicile state before any beneficiary receives legal title. Probate proceedings are public record. State probate timelines range from 6 months in streamlined jurisdictions to 18 months or longer in contested or complex estates.

During the probate window, your family cannot sell the house, refinance it, or transfer it — regardless of their financial need. Attorney fees, executor fees, and court filing fees typically consume 3 to 7% of gross estate value [American Bar Association, Probate & Property Magazine, 2024]. On a $450,000 home, that is $13,500 to $31,500 in fees paid before a single heir receives a dollar of benefit.

A revocable living trust funded during the grantor's lifetime eliminates this outcome entirely for real property [IRC §645; Uniform Trust Code §602]. The trust becomes the legal owner of the house. Upon the grantor's death, the successor trustee transfers title to named beneficiaries without filing a single court document — no public record, no mandatory waiting period, and no probate administration fees.

Homeowners who consider a full trust a large initial step have a documented alternative in 39 U.S. states: a beneficiary deed enacted under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act [National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws]. A properly recorded transfer-on-death deed names a payable-on-death beneficiary for real property. The homeowner retains full ownership and control during life, and the deed takes legal effect only at death — bypassing probate entirely.

A will does not avoid probate. A will is a set of instructions submitted to the probate court; the court still controls the timeline, fees still apply, and proceedings remain public. Without a trust, a beneficiary deed, or a qualifying joint tenancy arrangement, real property passes under the state's intestacy statute [Uniform Probate Code §2-102], which applies a fixed statutory hierarchy with no accommodation for blended families, dependent relatives, minor heirs, or undocumented personal wishes. Fidelis Estate pairs AI-driven document assembly with a licensed professional to complete trust creation, asset titling, and beneficiary alignment in one focused session at https://www.fidelis.solutions/intake.

Sources

American Bar Association, Probate & Property Magazine, 2024 — probate cost range of 3–7% of gross estate value
Uniform Probate Code §1-201 — definition of probate-triggering condition for individually titled real property
Uniform Probate Code §2-102 — intestacy distribution hierarchy for real property
IRC §645 — tax treatment of revocable living trusts after grantor's death
Uniform Trust Code §602 — revocability and amendment of revocable trusts during grantor's lifetime
Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act — National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, transfer-on-death deed statutory framework adopted in 39 states

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