Do You Need a Will, a Living Trust, or Both in Your Estate Plan?

Do You Need a Will, a Living Trust, or Both in Your Estate Plan?- Your estate plan will benefit from having a professionally prepared will, living trust, or both, to be sure that your assets reach the right person after your passing. Both accomplish different goals, so you’ll want to be sure they match your situation and overall estate planning goals. A recent article from MSN, “Living Trust vs. Will: What’s the Difference and Which One Do You Need,” explains it all.

First, what is a will?

It’s a final set of instructions serving several additional purposes. Your will names exactly who should receive assets, including family members, charitable organizations, or friends, in any combination you wish. However, a will does more.

Your will is also the document needed to name a guardian for any minor children. If you have children under age 18, your will should name a guardian and a backup guardian, in case your first candidate can’t take the child or children into their homes. Without this document, your children’s future will rest in the court’s hands.

A will goes into effect only after death. It has no control over assets while you are living, and you can make changes to it as often as you wish. The will also goes through probate, meaning the court will review it, decide whether it’s valid, appoint your executor and allow the executor to proceed with carrying out the instructions.

A Living Trust becomes effective as soon as it’s established, while you are living. It allows you to transfer ownership of assets into the trust, which functions as a separate legal entity. For a living trust, also known as a revocable trust, the grantor is the person who establishes the trust and can be the trustee, which means that you maintain complete control over the assets in the trust. The trust document includes a successor trustee, the person who takes control of the trust upon your death or incapacity.

Trusts have certain advantages over wills. For one thing, if you become sick and can’t manage your affairs, the successor trustee can use the assets in the trust to do things like pay bills and keep your household running. Assets in the trust don’t go through the probate process, which streamlines the distribution process. Unlike wills, trust documents remain private, so nosy relatives or neighbors can’t gain access to your private information. A will becomes public once it is entered into probate, but trusts are private.

Revocable trusts are excellent estate planning tools if you want to avoid the delays of probate and prefer privacy. Trusts are also better for setting restrictions on how assets are managed and when they are distributed. You can use a trust to name multiple beneficiaries and determine precisely when you believe heirs will be ready to inherit responsibly.

Which one do you need?

If you have young children, you need a will to name a guardian. If your estate is straightforward, a will can do the job. If you don’t mind having your estate go through probate, and some people don’t, then a will is right for you.

If you own property in multiple states, probate is going to be very complicated and take a long time. A living trust should be considered. A living trust also works better in case of incapacity.

Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney to determine which of these two documents is best for you. They’ll help you understand the pros and cons depending on your situation.

Schedule your phone consultation: THE LAW OFFICES OF CLAUDE S. SMITH, III

Do You Need a Will, a Living Trust, or Both in Your Estate Plan?

Reference: MSN (May 28, 2025) “Living Trust vs. Will: What’s the Difference and Which One Do You Need”