The
law of trusts and estates is the body of
law which governs the disposition of
property in the event of a person's
death and in anticipation of the event of a person's death. An
estate is comprised of the tangible assets of
real and
personal property which belong to a person, whereas
trusts and
wills are the most commonly used legal instruments for the distribution of the tangible assets of a deceased person. Before property can be disposed of pursuant to the terms of a will, the will must be submitted to a
probate[?] court which takes
jurisdiction of the estate of the deceased. In striking contrast, trusts can and usually do accomplish their objectives of property distribution without coming under the jurisdiction of a court.
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