Should your revocable trust own your bank accounts?

Al: My wife who is recently deceased and I have a revocable trust but outside the trust we have some checking accounts which have not been titled in the trust's name. If something were to happen to me, does that cause some probate issues for me?

Attorney Tom Olsen: It may be, Al, but remember you have a trust for the purpose of avoiding probate. In order to avoid probate with a trust it requires two things. Number one, you have a trust. Number two, that your trust owns your assets. As far as your checking in savings account, you would have another tool to avoid probate on those and that would be to keep them in your name only but make them POD, payable on death, to your adult children. That might be an easier way for you to avoid probate on your bank accounts is making them POD rather than making your trust the owner of those accounts.