Trust or Will: Which One Should I Use to Handle My Bonita Springs Estate?
When you have already worked hard for decades to accumulate your Bonita Springs wealth, you should find the best way to protect your assets and heirs from predators and creditors after your death. You can embrace various strategies to ensure your assets are distributed to your beneficiaries as you intended them to be. Since each person has unique circumstances, it is crucial to seek professional assistance to ensure that you make the best legal decision, which is unique to your circumstances. That said, a Trust would be more effective for some, while a Will may be useful for others. In most cases, a Trust will be more superior than a Will.
What Is a Will?
A Will is a legally enforceable written document that is signed and witnessed, indicating how your Bonita Springs property Will be distributed when you die. A Will is revocable, and you may review and update it at any time during your lifetime when your circumstances change. A Will also enables you to appoint a guardian for your minor children.
A last will and testament goes into effect after your death.
What Is a Trust?
A trust is a fiduciary relationship which allows you to give another party the authority to handle your assets for the benefit of your beneficiaries. A Trust provides both lifetime and after-death property management. You may choose to serve as your own Trustee, and the Trustee instrument Will offer a provision for a successor who Will serve in case you become incapacitated or die. This process does not require court intervention. If you become disabled by an accident or illness, your successor Trustee Will manage your Trust property to avoid unnecessary expenses, publicity, and inconvenience that may be caused by a court-supervised distribution of your estate, which happens for people who do not have a Trust.
A living trust goes into effect as soon as it’s signed. You can change your revocable living trust right up until the time of your death.
Why Choose a Living Trust Over a Will?
Avoiding the Costly and Time-Consuming Probate
Probate is the judicial process of changing the title on assets when someone dies. If you only have a Will, when you die while owning some assets in your individual names, which have no named beneficiaries, these assets are inaccessible. Your family members can gain access to these assets and accounts by filing a petition with the probate court and wait for the court to approve the Will; afterward, the court Will appoint a personal representative. It is worth noting that this process takes a lot of time and can be costly. On the other hand, a living Trust is beneficial to help your loved ones avoid probate since the assets and accounts owned in the name of a Trust are usually readily accessible to the designated successor.
Ensuring Your Family’s Privacy
A probated will is not only costly and time-consuming, but it also exposes your family as it will become a public record. People will know the value of your family’s assets. On the other hand, a Trust is a private document.
Protecting Your Heirs from Creditors
If you do not want to be worried that the inheritance you leave for your heirs may be lost to their creditors, such as lawsuits, unpaid credit card bills, business loss, bankruptcy, or a divorcing spouse, you better distribute your assets to your beneficiaries through a Trust rather than a Will. A Trust fund enables you to safeguard your heirs’ inheritance from their creditors as it keeps the inherited assets out of their names—the asset ownership remains in the Trust. The beneficiary Will have access to the assets in accordance with the directions you leave in your Trust. A Trust also allows you to put your beneficiary as the Trustee, giving him or her the power to manage their own inheritance. If you leave your assets to your beneficiaries through a Trust rather than outright through a Will, you will be sure that your Bonita Springs estate and other assets you worked so hard for will be available to your children and future generations.
Reducing Estate Taxes
Trusts can help reduce estate taxes, while a traditional Will cannot. For married couples, the traditional Wills leave all assets outright to the remaining spouse upon the death of the first one. If you have an estate of more than minimum value set by the state, your spouse will be charged estate tax payable at the surviving spouse’s death. To ensure that your assets pass without many deductions, you should create a Trust as estate tax planning though Trusts for married couples is permissible under both the state and federal tax laws.
Getting Started
Most people tend to confuse the terms “Will” and “Trust,” which are very different. These are just a few ways in which a Trust is better than a Will, helping you protect your Bonita Springs Estate before and after your death. You should also note that there are various types of Trusts, each offering is unique advantages, from which you can choose. Contact our estate planning attorneys to help you choose the most suitable Trust that perfectly fits your unique situation and concerns. If you have any question or inquiries, do not hesitate to contact The Mattar Firm. Our team of professional Estate Planning lawyers is dedicated to serving you.