How to Avoid Probate in Multiple States with a Revocable Living Trust

If you own homes or rental properties in more than one state, the last thing you want is your family juggling multiple probates after you’re gone. 

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens when you die owning real estate in several states — Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, or anywhere else — unless those properties are placed into a revocable living trust.

In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to avoid probate in multiple states with a revocable living trust for real estate, including step-by-step instructions for funding property into your trust, filing the PT-61 form in Georgia, and keeping your homestead exemption intact. 

By the end, you’ll understand how one unified legal tool can replace years of court delays, multiple attorneys, and thousands in unnecessary fees.

1. The Problem: Multiple Probates

Each state controls any land or home that sits within its borders.

So if you live in Georgia but also own property in Florida or Tennessee, each state’s court gets involved when you die. That’s called ancillary probate — meaning “extra” probate in another state.

Here’s what happens without a trust:

• Georgia runs the main probate (your “domiciliary” probate).
• Florida and Tennessee each require their own probate case before your heirs can sell, transfer, or even maintain those properties.
• Each state requires its own lawyer, filing fees, and months of waiting.

Even if everything goes smoothly, families usually spend 12–18 months untangling ownership — all while paying taxes, insurance, and maintenance on homes they can’t sell yet.

Cost Example

Here are the costs if you have to do probate in multiple states.

State	Type of Probate	Typical Attorney Fees	Average Time
Georgia	Main probate	$3,000–$8,000	6–12 months
Florida	Ancillary	Statutory % of value (often $5K–$10K+)	4–9 months
Tennessee	Ancillary	Hourly + court fees ($2K–$6K+)	4–12 months
Total saved with a trust	No probate	$0 after setup	Immediate transfer

That’s usually $15,000–$30,000 in extra legal fees avoided by setting things up right in advance.

2. Why a Will Makes It Worse

Most people think a Will avoids probate — it doesn’t.

A Will actually requires probate because the court must review and approve it before anything is distributed.

If you have a home in Georgia, a rental in Florida, and a cabin in Tennessee, your Will guarantees three separate probates. Every court must:

• Verify the Will is valid.
• Authorize a local executor.
• Approve any sale or transfer.

So, a Last Will and Testament in Georgia is basically an invitation to court in every state.

3. The Solution: A Revocable Living Trust (RLT)

A Revocable Living Trust fixes this by changing who legally owns your properties before you die.

Instead of you owning the homes, your trust becomes the owner.

You still control everything — buy, sell, refinance, or live in any property as before — but when you die, the trust continues to own them.

Because the trust doesn’t “die,” there’s nothing for the court to transfer.

Your chosen Successor Trustee simply steps in and follows your written instructions privately, without court oversight.

If you’d like to see how this works legally, read our guide on how a revocable trust avoids probate in Georgia.

Benefits:

• No probate anywhere.
• Immediate access for your family.
• Private (no public court filings).
• One unified plan for all properties.

4. How to Put Property Into a Trust (Georgia Example)

This process is called funding the trust.

If you skip it, your trust won’t work — the court will still require probate.

Here’s exactly how to do it right in Georgia.

Step 1: Create the Revocable Living Trust

• Name yourself as the initial trustee and beneficiary.
• Name a Successor Trustee (who manages things when you’re gone).
• Include instructions for who receives what after your death.

To learn how this document works, see our overview of revocable living trusts in Georgia.

Step 2: Transfer the Deeds

• You’ll sign a new deed moving each property from you to you as Trustee of your trust.
  • Example: from John A. Smith to John A. Smith, Trustee of the John A. Smith Revocable Living Trust dated 2025.
• Use a Limited Warranty Deed, not a Quitclaim Deed.
  Quitclaims can cause title insurance problems later.
• Record the new deed with the County Superior Court Clerk.

If you want a full breakdown of how to do this yourself, see how to put a house in a trust without a lawyer in Georgia.

Step 3: File the PT-61 Transfer Form

• This is Georgia’s property transfer form.
• It updates the tax records to show your trust as the owner.
• It’s filed at the same time as your new deed.
• Transfers to your own trust are generally exempt from transfer tax.

Step 4: Keep Your Homestead Exemption

If your Georgia home is in your trust, you can keep your Homestead Exemption (the property-tax discount) by filing the county’s Affidavit for Homestead Applications.

This confirms that you still live there and are the trust’s main beneficiary.

Step 5: Check Mortgages

Federal law (the Garn-St. Germain Act) says your bank cannot call your loan due just because you transferred the property to your own revocable trust.

As long as you still live there and remain a beneficiary, you’re protected

5. What About Out-of-State Property?

You’ll repeat the same process in each state — record a deed transferring the property into the same Georgia trust.

Example:

• Georgia home → recorded in Georgia.
• Florida condo → recorded in the Florida county where the condo sits.
• Tennessee cabin → recorded in the Tennessee county clerk’s office.

Once that’s done:

• The same trust owns all three.
• There’s no need for ancillary probate in Florida or Tennessee.
• Your Georgia-based trustee can manage or sell all properties seamlessly.

6. Managing and Updating the Trust

While you’re alive:

• You can revoke or change the trust anytime.
• You remain the trustee and beneficiary, so you keep full control.
• You can add new properties by recording new deeds into the trust.

When you pass away:

• Your Successor Trustee steps in immediately — no waiting for court.
• They can pay bills, handle insurance, and transfer or sell property as needed.
• The instructions in your trust tell them who inherits what and when.

For an in-depth explanation of these management rules, see who owns property in a revocable trust in Georgia.

7. Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Forgetting to fund the trust.
   If a property isn’t retitled, it still goes through probate.
2. Using a Quitclaim Deed.
   That can break your title insurance coverage. Use a Limited Warranty Deed instead.
3. Failing to file the Homestead Affidavit.
   You could lose your property-tax discount.
4. Not updating your plan after refinancing.
   Some lenders require you to temporarily move the title out of the trust for closing — always record a new deed putting it back in.
5. Thinking a Will alone avoids probate.
   It never does — it guarantees probate in every state you own real estate.

If you want to see how a poorly funded trust can cause problems, review our guide on the disadvantages of a revocable living trust in Georgia.

8. Why This Works Financially

Creating a revocable trust in Georgia usually costs between $3,500 and $4,500.

That one-time cost replaces three separate court cases that would cost $15,000–$30,000 total.

Even better — the transfer of deeds and PT-61 filings are one-time administrative tasks you can handle in a few days.

You spend a weekend doing paperwork now and save your family a year and five figures in legal headaches later.

For pricing comparisons, see how much a revocable living trust costs in Georgia.

9. Alternatives (and Why They Fall Short)

Here are other estate planning tools and how they work for avoiding probate for out of state properties.

Tool	Avoids Multi-State Probate?	Limitations
Will	No	Requires probate in every state
Joint Ownership	Partially	Avoids probate only after first spouse’s death
Transfer-on-Death Deed	Only works in some states	Not valid in all states (Tennessee still needs court)
Revocable Living Trust	Yes	Works everywhere with one document

The trust is the only option that unifies everything. For a full comparison, see revocable vs irrevocable trusts in Georgia.

10. Bottom Line: How to Do It Yourself

If you want to handle this on your own:

1. Set up a Revocable Living Trust.
   You can use a reputable legal-document service or work with an attorney for accuracy.
2. Prepare new deeds for each property (Georgia, Florida, Tennessee).
   Use Limited Warranty Deeds naming yourself as Trustee.
3. Record each deed in the county where the property is located.
4. File the PT-61 form (Georgia) and any equivalent forms in other states.
5. File the Homestead Affidavit if it’s your Georgia residence.
6. Update insurance policies to name your trust as the property owner.
7. Store the signed trust and recorded deeds together in a safe place.

After that, your family will never have to deal with multi-state probate — ever.

For families in Georgia, our Atlanta estate planning attorneys can help review deeds, prepare PT-61 forms, and ensure your plan covers every property correctly.

Just fill out the form below to talk to someone on our team.