Wills and Trusts

 

• 1FAQ
• 2Differences between Wills and Living Trusts
• 3What is a Power of Attorney?
• 4Legal Forms
• 5Discussion Forum

[top]FAQ

What does a Will do?

A Will is the legal document that allows you to distribute your property to those you choose. A Will allows you to designate beneficiaries to receive specific items from your estate, and other beneficiaries to receive everything else. For example, if you want your house, your car, or your antique thimble collection to go to a certain person or organization, you designate that person or organization as the beneficiary.

Who's going to make sure that your antique thimble collection goes to the proper person? The executor of your Will. The executor's the person you designate to carry out your wishes.

A Will also gives parents of minor children the chance to nominate a guardian. The court makes the final decision when appointing a guardian for your children after your death, but the court will usually accept your nomination. A guardian’s legal responsibility is to provide for your child’s physical welfare.


What does a Living Trust do?

A Will comes into play only after you die, but a living trust can actually start benefiting you while you are still alive. A living trust is a trust established during your lifetime. It is revocable, which allows for you to make changes. You will transfer substantially all of your property into your living trust during your lifetime, and any omitted assets can be transferred into the trust at the time of death through the use of a simple Pour-over Will. You should always make a Pour-over Will at the time that you establish your trust.

A living trust will be used as the mechanism to manage your property before and after your death, as well as provide how those assets, and the income earned by the trust, are distributed after your death. If you should become incapacitated or disabled, the trust is in place to manage your financial affairs, usually by a successor trustee, if you were serving as trustee. A living trust is not subject to probate, and therefore, all provisions of the trust will remain private.

Joint living trusts are also possible. They simply combine the assets of a husband and wife into a single trust, governed by a single trust document. However, if estate tax minimization is important (for combined estates which will exceed $625,000), the joint living trust must be very carefully drafted with the help of an attorney in order to achieve the desired goals.


What happens if I do not have a Will or Living Trust?

The legal term for dying without a Will is dying intestate. If you do not specify through a valid Will or Living Trust who will receive your property, state law controls and generally distributes your property to your spouse and/or your closest heirs. This may or may not be what you intended. Furthermore, if you fail to nominate a guardian for your minor children, the state could appoint someone you don't trust as a legal guardian of your minor children. Finally, by failing to appoint someone to carry out your wishes, the state can appoint anyone to be the administrator of your property, and the administrator may have to pay certain fees or post a bond at the expense of your estate, before he or she can begin to distribute your assets.

[top]Differences between Wills and Living Trusts

Both Wills and Trusts are devices which you can use to provide for the distribution of your estate upon your death. Deciding whether a Will or a Trust best fits your needs depends on your circumstances. A living Trust is a popular alternative to the traditional Will, but you should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each before deciding on one form or the other.


Probate: Will versus Living Trust

Will:

• Subject to probate proceedings.
  
• Out -of-state property requires probate proceedings in that state, as well.
  
• Provides court supervision for handling beneficiary challenges and creditor disputes.
  
• Becomes public record at the time of your death.

Living Trust:

• Not subject to probate proceedings.
  
• Avoids the cost of a second-state probate proceeding where there is out-of-state property.
  
• No automatic court supervision to deal with disputes.
  
• Remains private.

Tax Savings: Will versus Living Trust

Will:

Same tax saving provisions available as are available in a Trust.

Living Trust:

Same tax saving provisions available as are available in a Will.


Management of your Assets: Will versus Living Trust

Will:

In addition to the Will, must use a Power of Attorney or Conservatorship to manage assets.

Living Trust:

• Allows you as the grantor to manage the Trust assets as long as you are willing and able.
  
• Makes provisions for a successor trustee to take over in your place.

Costs: Will versus Living Trust

Will:

Costs less to prepare a Will than a Trust. Cost to probate a Will can be substantial.

Living Trust:

Costs more to prepare, fund and manage a Trust than to prepare a Will. But avoids probate costs if all assets were held by the Trust.

[top]What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney is a legal instrument that is used to delegate legal authority to another. The person who signs (executes) a Power of Attorney is called the Principal. The power of Attorney gives legal authority to another person (called an Agent or Attorney-in-Fact) to make property, financial and other legal decisions for the Principal.

A Principal can give an Agent broad legal authority, or very limited authority. The Power of Attorney is frequently used to help in the event of a Principal's illness or disability, or in legal transactions where the principal cannot be present to sign necessary legal documents.

For more information see... Power of Attorney

[top]Legal Forms

Legal forms for all 50 states and the District of Columbia

Do It Yourself Wills and Living Trust

A will is one of most important legal documents you may ever sign. Without a will, the courts and state law decide what happens to your assets. You need to make your own decisions.

Do It Yourself Wills and Living Trust Forms and Packages listed below make it easier... up-to-date, high quality forms approved and adopted for use in all relevant courts. You may also obtain information on filing and serving the documents when necessary. There's no waiting--forms are available for instant downloading.

Select the appropriate form for your State. View free previews. Download in Word format.

Wills and Living Trust - Forms and Packages

Living Trust Forms

Living Wills

Wills for People with Adult Children

Wills for People with Minor Children

Wills for People with No Children

Wills for Widow or Widower

Wills - Mutual

Will Codicil or Amendment

Will to Trust - Pour Over Will

Wills - Estate Planning Questionnaire

Wills - Complex

Wills - All Wills for your State

Power of Attorney - Forms and Packages

Power of Attorney - Durable

Power of Attorney - Health Care

Power of Attorney - Limited

Power of Attorney - Child Care

Power of Attorney - Revocations

Power of Attorney - All Forms

[top]Discussion Forum

Latest threads from the forum Wills, Trusts, Estates

 

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