You may have written a will years ago, after buying a home, having children or realizing that your family needed a plan for the future. At the time, putting your wishes in writing may have felt like enough. Now, you may be hearing more about living trusts and wondering whether your will leaves something important unresolved. The answer depends on what you want your estate plan to accomplish.
What a will can and cannot do
A will directs how your estate should be distributed after your death and allows you to nominate a guardian for minor children. However, a will does not automatically spare your family from probate, the court-supervised process for settling an estate. Even when a will clearly names beneficiaries, your loved ones may need court approval to transfer certain assets.
California offers simplified procedures for some estates, so probate is not necessary in every case. The type of property you own, how you hold title and the estate’s value can affect the process.
When a trust may offer more protection
A revocable living trust can help you plan for circumstances that a will alone may not address.
For example, if you own a home that you want to leave to your children, transferring it properly into a trust can allow your successor trustee to manage or distribute it after your death without probate. Simply signing a trust document is not enough, however. You must transfer the intended assets into the trust for those assets to receive its benefits. Property left outside it may still require probate.
A trust can also help if you want to control how beneficiaries receive an inheritance. Rather than giving a young adult the full amount at once, you could direct a trustee to distribute funds at certain ages or for specified needs.
Planning for incapacity is another consideration. If illness or injury prevents you from managing your finances, a successor trustee can generally manage assets held in your trust. A durable financial power of attorney may still be necessary to address financial matters involving assets outside it.
Choose a plan that reflects your needs
Your estate plan should give your loved ones practical guidance on managing your affairs and carrying out your wishes when the time comes. A will may be sufficient for your circumstances, or a trust may offer useful options for managing property, limiting probate and planning for incapacity.
Consider what your loved ones would need to do to carry out your wishes, not just what your documents say. A California estate planning attorney can review your will, assess your assets and explain whether a trust or other documents would better address your family’s needs.
