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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