Wills vs Trusts: which is best for you?
A trust is basically a legal contract that transfers property and assets from one person, the grantor, to another person or group of person, the beneficiaries, through the trustee. The GRANTOR is the person with the property or asset to transfer. The TRUSTEE takes care of the assets and or property for the benefits of the BENEFICIARIES. This is often done while the grantor is still alive, hence, the name Living Trust.
A will, on the other hand is a deed that states how you would like your property, assets and other effects managed and distributed or divided upon your death. There is also PROBATE, the process in which the will is submitted to a court for administration after your passing and for accomplishment. The EXECUTOR of the will, usually a person named in the will and usually a lawyer, is the person responsible for managing the affairs of the estate as it goes through probate. The court will then supervise your estate and the distribution of your assets as descried in your will with specifications on the requisites for transfer of your assets.
Choosing: pros and cons
When looking at wills vs trusts, trusts seem to have the upper hand. Trusts, as stated above, are acted upon while you are still alive, thus giving you the opportunity to supervise the transfer of ownership of assets and property personally. With living trusts, there are revocable and irrevocable trusts. The revocable trust can be changed at anytime if the grantor is not satisfied or is having second thoughts about the beneficiary or the trustee. Irrevocable trusts cannot be changed, well not without a lengthy process, so the grantor should be careful when trust planning an irrevocable trust.
When it comes to a will, given that you will be dead by the time the will is executed, you can not oversee the transfer yourself. Although the will is very specific in what you want done, it usually takes a long time to process. The probate, for one thing, takes a lot of time, and also requires a lawyer which incurs cost to your estate.
So, in the comparison of wills vs. trusts, the living trusts come out as the strong and practical choice. But in choosing which is best for you is up to you. The trick is to research more and finding out more about them in other wills vs trusts comparison.
It all comes down to careful planning.
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