Estate planning can feel overwhelming, even with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney. You may have many considerations, like ensuring your family and dependents are taken care of, your wishes about health care are honored, and certain assets are preserved or protected from creditors and taxation.
Although you may be in good health now, you never know when an accident could happen. Creating a will, trust, or both—with the help of a skilled estate planning law firm—can help you face the future with more confidence, knowing that your family is cared for and your wishes will be honored.
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What Is a Will?
Your Last Will and Testament is a legal document that outlines how you wish to have your estate (all your assets and property) allocated upon your death. Without a will, your property, bank accounts, real estate, and other assets will be divided according to Texas intestacy laws. It goes into effect at the time of your death and indicates who your beneficiaries are and what assets they will receive. While it can indicate a guardian for your minor child or any other dependents, this can also be addressed in a separate Declaration of Guardian document.
In a will, you name an executor who will be responsible for ensuring that the will’s directives are followed and that your estate is properly processed through probate.
Another thing to remember about a will is that it becomes a public document when it goes through probate (all wills in Texas must pass through probate court), so the details of your estate and beneficiaries become public record.
What Is a Trust?
A trust is another type of estate planning document. Like a will, it can ensure that certain assets benefit certain persons or entities. There are several types of trusts, though, and you and your estate planning lawyer may create one or more depending on your financial situation, goals, and responsibilities.
When you create a trust, you transfer assets into it and name a beneficiary or beneficiaries to benefit from it. Trusts can contain money, investments, and even real estate—you could place your family home in a trust, live in it, and allow others to live in it while the trust maintains overall property ownership.
Trusts are managed by trustees, individuals who are responsible for ensuring that the terms of the trust are followed and for fulfilling various accounting and tax responsibilities.
You can choose a revocable living trust, which allows you to control and benefit from the property in the trust while you’re alive and which can be revoked at any time. Or, you may create an irrevocable trust, which cannot be changed after it’s established.
Which is Right For Me – A Trust or a Will?
Wills are usually more straightforward to create than trusts and typically have lower costs, although the estate will be responsible for paying probate fees and other expenses.
If you have minor children, you can name a guardian in your will—you can’t do this with a trust. If you bequeath property to your children, you can name a property manager to act on the minor child’s behalf.
A trust is probate—the terms of a trust will not be disclosed in probate and will not become public record. Also, because trusts don’t go through probate, there are no fees associated with processing them (although the trust may have to pay taxes or pay the trust administrator).
How an Estate Planning Lawyer Can Help
If you haven’t created an estate plan yet, an estate planning attorney can explain your options for creating a will or trust—or both—to accomplish your goals and preserve your assets for your family. Contact an estate planning firm today for more information.
