This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. For guidance on your personal situation, please contact a lawyer.
Estate planning is not an easy thing to do. For one thing, it can bring about uncomfortable feelings. It can also be overwhelming to work through your legal options for passing assets on to your heirs.
You may be inclined to keep things simple on the estate planning front and use a will to transfer assets to your loved ones. But here's why a living trust may be a better option for you and the people you care about the most.
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1. You have a number of beneficiaries
The nice thing about a living trust is that it allows you to maintain control over your assets as long as you're alive. This could be a helpful thing if you have a large family and therefore want to pass assets along to a number of different people.
A living trust can also accommodate a growing or changing family. You can add or remove beneficiaries as you see fit to account for events like marriage, the birth of a child, or divorce.
Plus, with a living trust, you can specify exactly how much of your assets you want each beneficiary of yours to receive. And if you expect to have beneficiaries who are minors, a living trust can ensure that their assets are managed appropriately until they reach a certain age.
2. You own properties in multiple states
Real estate can be a tricky thing to leave behind in a will. It's often the case that when there are properties in multiple states, the process of probate needs to be tackled in each state in question. That could lead to a world of cost and complications.
With a living trust, your assets don't need to go through probate. That could spare your loved ones a lot of hassle and delay.
3. You want your family's financial matters to remain private
Because wills are subject to probate, they become a matter of public record. If that surprises you -- and not in a good way -- that alone is a good reason to consider setting up a living trust to pass assets on to your heirs instead.
With a living trust, your family's financial matters remain private. With a will, any old busybody could look up the details of your loved ones' inheritance -- and potentially use that information to try to exploit the people you care about the most. And if there's a family member you're intentionally excluding from your estate, there's the risk of them contesting your will and complicating matters further.
An option worth exploring
A living trust certainly isn't your only option for passing assets on to your heirs. And if your estate isn't particularly complicated, you may decide to stick to a basic will and call it a day.
But it pays to sit down with an estate planning attorney to see how a living trust might benefit you and your loved ones. Getting the right information will put you in a position to make the best decision.
