When planning your estate and figuring out a way to leave your assets to your children, you can choose to set up a will or a revocable living trust. Both have their pros and cons. Here are a few things to consider.
Avoid Probate
One reason to set up a revocable living trust is to avoid probate. You can save your family the stress, effort, and time it takes to deal with probate by setting up a trust, which does not have to go through probate. You can also avoid guardianship and conservatorship if you are incapacitated.
Keep It Private
A probate is public, and anyone can look up the details. If you want to keep your family matters private, you can do so with a living trust.
Can Go Into Effect When You Are Still Alive
A will can only go into effect after death. A living trust can go into effect when you are still alive. You can make provisions for if you are incapacitated as well.
Benefits of a Will
On the other hand, there are other things to take into account. A will has certain advantages that a revocable living trust does not have. For example, a trust must be notarized, while a will only needs witnesses. In addition, a trust only accounts for the assets that you place in it. You should probably also create a pour-over will to account for any assets that you may have omitted. A will may also be necessary if you need to plan for guardianship of a child.
For help with figuring out the best way to provide for your family, contact us today.
