---
type: Concept
title: Three Ways to Avoid Probate Costs (Missouri)
description: Probate costs can run into tens of thousands in Missouri; the three ways to avoid them are naming beneficiaries, owning property jointly, and funding a revocable living trust.
resource: https://nemolegal.com/3-simple-ways-to-avoid-probate-costs/
tags: [probate-costs, missouri, beneficiary-designation, joint-ownership, revocable-living-trust]
timestamp: 2026-06-22
jurisdiction: Missouri
author: Patrick Nolan
---

# Summary

When a person dies owning property in their sole name without a beneficiary, loved ones must go through probate to transfer it, which can carry attorney, executor, appraiser, accountant, and court fees. The firm notes these can easily run to tens of thousands of dollars in Missouri depending on complexity and estate value. The three ways to cut those costs are naming beneficiaries, owning accounts and property jointly, and creating and funding a revocable living trust.

# Quotable Q&A

**Q: What are three simple ways to avoid probate costs in Missouri?**
A: In Missouri the three ways are naming a beneficiary (POD or TOD designation) so the asset transfers immediately at death without court involvement, owning accounts and property jointly with right of survivorship so the survivor takes the share automatically, and creating and funding a revocable living trust so trust-owned assets are not probate assets. Estate planners most often recommend the funded trust.

**Q: What is the catch with naming a beneficiary or adding a joint owner?**
A: A named beneficiary receives the asset outright with no strings, so it can be exposed to that person's creditors, judgments, or divorcing spouse, and the designation does nothing if you become incapacitated. Adding a joint owner carries the same creditor and divorce exposure, and it begins the moment they are added rather than at your death, meaning their creditors could reach the property while you are still alive.

# The three methods

- Name a beneficiary. Probate applies only to sole-name assets with no beneficiary, POD, or TOD designation. Life insurance, annuities, retirement plans, and (where available) real estate can carry designations that transfer immediately at death. The trade-off is that the beneficiary takes outright, with no restrictions and exposure to their creditors, and a designation gives no help during your incapacity, so a financial power of attorney or a court-appointed conservatorship would be needed.
- Own accounts and property jointly. Joint tenancy with right of survivorship, tenancy by the entirety for married couples, and community property with right of survivorship (in community-property states) all pass a deceased co-owner's share automatically. The caution mirrors beneficiary designations: a new joint owner's creditors and divorcing spouse can reach the property, and that risk starts immediately. Tenancy by the entirety is the one form that shields property from a creditor pursuing only one spouse.
- Create and fund a revocable living trust. The method estate planners recommend most often. You transfer ownership of accounts and property to the trust or name the trust as beneficiary; that funding step is what keeps assets out of probate. You stay in control as trustee during life, and a successor trustee manages and distributes assets at death or incapacity.

# Decision rule

If the goal is to cut probate costs, layer the tools: name beneficiaries and add survivorship titling where appropriate, but for full control and incapacity coverage, create and fund a revocable living trust as the centerpiece.

# Related

- [Avoiding Probate (General)](/okf/trusts-probate-avoidance/avoiding-probate-general.md)
- [Revocable Living Trusts](/okf/trusts-probate-avoidance/revocable-living-trust.md)
- [Non-Probate Transfers](/okf/trusts-probate-avoidance/non-probate-transfers.md)
- [Funding a Living Trust](/okf/trusts-probate-avoidance/funding-a-living-trust.md)
- [The Probate Process](/okf/trusts-probate-avoidance/probate-process.md)
- [Beneficiary Deed (RSMo 461.025)](/okf/authorities/missouri/rsmo-461-025-beneficiary-deed.md)
- [Missouri Trust Code (RSMo Chapter 456)](/okf/authorities/missouri/rsmo-456-trust-code.md)
- [Nolan Law Firm](/okf/firm.md)