Aren't trusts only for the rich...

There is no magic income level where trusts make more or less sense from an estate planning perspective. Trusts work differently than a will and afford you more power over your estate in many ways. If you want to avoid probate, plan for incapacity, and control your estate even after death, then it is important that you consider a trust.

If you want to understand how a will and a trust can function for you, please contact our offices. Your choice between a trust and a will should be made within the context of your circumstances. For this reason, we offer free initial consultation with an attorney regarding your will and trust options.

Yes, even if you have a will, you should still consider your trust options, such as adding a trust to a will for minors. Most people who have a will haven't explored the benefits different trusts can afford them. Again, we offer free consultation with an attorney to discuss your will and trust options and the combination of a will with a trust.

No. When you look at total costs, trusts are cheaper. Why? Because, wills always include probate and the costs associated with probate. Probate is a legal process by which the will is proven. Probate is not included in the cost of drafting your will, and every will must be probated by the court and your lawyers. A trust is often considered more expensive, because people don't add the hidden cost of probate to the cost of their will.

Wills are documents that are only enacted once you die. Incapacity is not death and your will can't provide for your incapacity. Without legal protection for your assets during incapacity, you and your family will incur the huge burden and cost of guardianship and you risk greater misuse of your assets through a power of attorney.

Not necessarily. Living trusts do NOT require extra IRS filings.This particular trust keeps your social security and regular tax returns.

Probate is a required court procedure to prove that a will is valid or invalid. In current language usage, probate also refers to all legal procedures associated with carrying out a wills directions over time.

Maintaining a trust is work at first. However, it is work that must be done sometime, so organize your property now! In the cases of wills/probate the organization is done later.

Trusts force you to account for your assets and manage them in a way that relieves your heirs from doing the same work. It is much harder to manage and account for these assets after you die, when you can no longer help people find and understand the nuances of your estate.

When you set up a trust, you benefit from the personal attention of someone who knows the law. It is important that the person setting up your trust knows you and your circumstances, because trusts are very personal documents that do a lot more than just distribute assets.

Someone you haven't met can't give you the necessary personal attention or know your family dynamics (i.e., minors, marriages, family problems) or properly help you transfer your assets into the trust (trusts without transfer have little value).

Your trust shouldn't be a "cookie cutter" document. It needs to be personalized to fit you, your guidelines, and your circumstances.