As a responsible adult, you know end-of-life planning is important. However, with all the options and documents available, knowing what you need can be challenging.
For example, what’s better for your situation, a will or a living trust? If you are trying to decide which option is best for you in the will vs living trust battle, keep reading. Here you can learn about each to make an informed decision about what you need.
A Closer Look at Living Trusts
There are several types of trusts. For most, a living revocable trust is a smart option.
The living trust is in place and effective while you are alive. The revocable trust can be changed at any time. As things in your life change, you can also make changes to this trust.
After creating a trust, you are moving the ownership of certain assets, like your home or another property, to the trust. You are appointed as the trustee. This means you determine how the assets are used while you are still alive.
In the trust, you will appoint someone as your successor trustee. If you are incapacitated, your successor trustee can take over and start managing your affairs. They also take over when you die.
Understand that if you only have a will, after you die, your family will have to go to court to ensure everything in your will is followed, which is a process called probate. Along with being expensive and time-consuming, this is also public.
The best way to avoid probate is by creating trust. It’s private and doesn’t require court approval.
A Closer Look at Wills
While trusts are important, you also need a will. Even though bigger assets, such as your home, need to be in the trust, this probably isn’t all you own. Because of this, you need a will to outline who will get your smaller assets.
You will spell this out in your will. Wills are also where you will make your funeral wishes known. There are different types of wills to choose from.
If you are a parent, you have to have a will. A will allows you to appoint a guardian for your minor children. While you may not want to think about this, if you die with no will, then the courts may decide what happens to your children.
Will vs Living Trust: Which Do You Need?
As you can see from the information here, in the debate of will vs living trust, there is not one that is more important than the others. If you want to protect your family and your assets, having both of these is a must.
You can speak to a professional who can help you create all the necessary documents.
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