What Are the Advantages of A Trust Over a Will?
Depending on Your Personal Concerns and What You Aim to Achieve with Your Estate Plan, You Might Be Stuck Between Choosing a Revocable trust or a will.
The two types of trusts are revocable trusts and irrevocable trusts. Irrevocable trusts are not always an option because they require turning over the ownership of your property to the trust and its trustee indefinitely. On the other hand, a revocable living trust can be reversed in the case you change your mind. So, you can also reverse a revocable living trust instead of writing a will.
Read on to learn the advantages of choosing a trust over a will:
Avoid Probate
Probate is the process of transferring assets from a deceased person to their beneficiaries through the court. This process is required when a person dies and leaves a will (or even if they don’t) because there are no other ways to pass the property to a living beneficiary. On the other hand, a revocable living trust does not require probate because the trust has not died, and they own the assets. Instead, it is considered a private contract between the person making the trust and the trust entity.
Maintain Your Privacy
Once a will is submitted to the court, it becomes a public record to open probate. In other words, anyone can go to the courthouse and read about what you owned and who it is left to.
Plan for Mental Disability
A revocable living trust can prepare your estate in the unfortunate case you become mentally incapacitated, compared to a will that only prepares them in the case of your death. You will be able to give your successor trustee the ability to manage your property and finances in case you are unable to do so. Unfortunately, a will can only be transferred in the case of death.
You May Also Need a Will
Any trust without any property transferred into it is simply a legal entity without ownership. Any property that is not transferred will require probate so that it can be passed to the person’s living beneficiaries.
If you would like to discuss the advantages of a trust over a will, contact The Law Offices of Howe and Garside. Our experienced and qualified attorneys can help keep you informed and, most importantly, help you achieve the best possible outcome. We look forward to hearing from you!