New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
Estate planning is never an easy process. Not only does estate planning force a person to face that they will inevitably pass away some day, the estate planning process also requires a person to meet a number of requirements.
Even though they are the most common type of estate planning documents, wills are just one type of tool that is available in the world of estate planning. In some cases, people discover that trusts are a much better option. As a result, this article reviews some of the primary reasons why people select wills instead of trusts.
# 1 – Trusts Save Money and Time
While trusts and wills often involve the same degree of complexity, wills in New York must go through the probate process to become effective. As a result, while it might seem like wills and trusts take the same time to create, the probate process can make this take a much longer period of time. As a result, some people are able to more quickly and effectively realize their estate planning goals through the creation of a trust.
# 2 – Trusts Offer a Greater Degree of Privacy
Trusts offer an unparallelled degree of privacy, but wills remain visible to the public because they must proceed through the probate process The visibility associated with wills means that following probate, people sometimes come into contact with long lost family members, who believe that they have an interest in the estate. As a result, if you value your privacy, a trust might be a better option.
# 3 – Trusts Offer Protection
Trusts are a wise idea for people who are not good at handling money due to poor financial decision making or special needs. The person who creates a trust is able to distinguish exactly how assets should be distributed.
Not only can trusts protect a beneficiary from poor spending patterns, trusts can also protect against creditors. If you have a special needs child, a trust will allow you to leave assets for the child without interrupting public benefit services.
# 4 – Trusts Provide More Control
Because trusts do not require court supervision, it is possible to make sure that a person’s goals are carried out through the use of a trust without outside interruption. This exists in contracts to wills, which must pass through proceed and can lead to a great degree of uncertainty regarding how the terms of a will are carried out. As a result, by creating a trust, a person is able to have increased control over how assets will be distributed.
Speak with an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney Today
This article has reviewed only some of the main reasons why you should consider a trust instead of a will. A knowledgeable estate planning lawyer can better help review whether a trust or will would work best for your situation. A skilled attorney can also help you determine if any other estate planning tools would be helpful. Contact Ettinger Estate Planning today to schedule a free initial consultation.