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Q.If a Will Does The Same Thing As A Living Trust, Why Do I Need A Living Trust?
A.You may not. People often opt to create a living trust to avoid the time and expense associated with the probate process. In some cases that is a good decision and in others it may turn out to be a good decision but for the wrong reason. You may heard that court costs, appraisal fees, lawyer’s fees and accounting bills associated with probate can be significantly higher than administering a trust. That isn't always the case. However, a living trust does afford many advantages over a standard Will. It would be too lengthy to discuss them all, but a few examples are provided. One advantage of the Living Trust is that if the trust’s creator becomes incapacitated, the Living Trust allows for the Successor Trustee to manage the trust’s property. If you only have a Will, you will also need a Durable Power of Attorney to designate someone to handle your financial affairs (pay your bills). If you have a Will and no Durable Power of Attorney, a person will need to apply to the court to have a “conservator” or “guardian” (not of your choosing) appointed to handle such matters for you. Another advantage to the Living Trust is that its contents can be kept confidential. Unlike a Will, which must be recorded with the County Clerk for anyone to read, a trust document is not recorded. Finally, a Living Trust can save a tremendous amount of money and time if you own a home in one state and a rental property in another state. If you only have a Will, your estate would have to go through the probate process at home and in state where your rental property is situated. If your properties had been placed in a Living Trust, then probate is avoided altogether and the administration of your estate stays at home. In this last example the court costs, appraisal fees, lawyer’s fees and accounting bills associated with two probates would likely be significantly higher than administering a trust.
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