Wills vs. Living Trust

A Will is efficient but will go through the Probate process. A Will is a legal document that explains what you want to happen after you die and puts it all in writing.  It outlines who gets what of your belongings. Your executors duties are to contact the attorney who is representing your Probated estate and follow his/her instructions as to what must be done concerning inventory of estate assets. Since Wills go through Probate, having a Will can be very expensive, complex and delays are usually inevitable.   

The Probate Process is a court-supervised process for identifying and gathering assets of a deceased person.  The court proceeding is required for transferring property which was owned by the decedent, to the identified beneficiary named in the Will.  The services of an attorney are required in order to Probate an estate.  A CPA  and appraisals are just a few of the expenses of Probate along with the attorney and filing fees.  Your family members are required to pay the fees associated with Probate.  Your executor will be instructed by the Probate attorney to accomplish the duties required for the courts.  Every duty must be done in a timely manner.   Not only are  the expenses of Probate an inconvenience but the complexity and delays of the court appearances are also upsetting.  Since there is  court interference, your estate is public knowledge. (on the internet) Another pitfall of Probate is that all Wills maybe challenged.

A Revocable Living Trust is an estate planning tool to avoid the Probate process. If your wishes are to make things easy for your heirs, then a Revocable Living Trust is your answer.  It can be altered at any time by the creator of the Trust (the Trustee).  By putting your assets in the name of your Trust, upon your death the assets can be distributed to the beneficiaries quickly.  Unlike a Will, as long as your assets are in the Trust name, those assets will avoid Probate.  Since there is not a court interference, your Trust remains private.  No attorney is needed to transfer assets.  Your successor trustee will have that job. In the event of illness, disability or the effects of aging, the successor trustee can manage the assets that were transferred to the Trust.  NO expense is incurred to your family.