Is a living trust worth the cost just to avoid probate for my family?

It depends on your state and situation. In states with slow, expensive probate (like California), a revocable living trust can save your heirs significant time, money, and public exposure, often justifying the higher upfront setup cost of a few thousand dollars. In states with streamlined or small-estate probate, a will plus beneficiary designations may be plenty.

A trust also helps if you own real estate in multiple states (avoiding probate in each), want privacy, or need to manage assets if you become incapacitated. Remember you must actually retitle assets into the trust, called funding it, or the trust does nothing. Weigh the setup and maintenance cost against your state's probate burden, and consult a local estate attorney.