Ted Kennedy’s wll was filed today (see www.myfox.com).
In it, you will see that all of Kennedy’s assts are held in a trust, which then passes to his heirs. Does this mean that the whole probate process is bypassed?
I imagine there is a considerable savings in doing this-what kind of fees to probabte lawyers typically charge?
If the probate process were being completely bypassed, there wouldn’t be much use in filing his will for probate. 
Most likely it transferred any remaining property that he hadn’t already placed in the trust prior to his death.
But to answer the OP’s question, a trust of this nature usually does indeed bypass probate. Not all assets will necessarily be in the trust, though.
Contrary to popular belief, using a trust does not bypass estate taxes, but it can lessen taxes in some cases.
They charge for probate than they would for setting up and administering the trust. So, whatever tax advantages it may have, it’s not a strategy likely to reduce legal costs.
Large estates often use “pour-over” into trusts because the trust has a trustee charged with distributing the funds according to a plan; it saves having to name what you want done with every damn thing you own.
Michael Jackson’s will poured over nearly everything into a trust for the benefit of particular family members; his will was only 5 double spaced pages for a $500 million+ estate.