Though often used in many jurisdictions such as California and Florida where the probate process and the administration of estates often can be problematic, historically, inter vivos trusts, whether be they revocable or irrevocable, were rarely used in New York. New York estate planning lawyers relied on wills since in New York, for most estates, the probate process was historically a quick and easy process and the administration of estates was equally simple.

In practice, for most estates, once the will was admitted to probate there would be little, if any, interaction with the court absent a litigation or a special proceeding. In jurisdictions such as Florida, the personal representative is often required to regularly file reports with the court and at times explain why the administration of the estate had not been completed.