Estate Planning: Are You Better Off with a Living Trust or a Will? 

Simply put, estate planning is a legal process by which one makes arrangements for asset designation and other affairs in case death inevitably occurs. This is typically done through drawing up wills and living trusts. However, you have to know that there is more to estate planning than just assigning beneficiaries. Estate planning is not as simple as you think it is. In order to truly make the right choice regarding what document to prepare, there are some things you have to look into. Here are some of them:

• Types of assets and properties as well as their values
• How your distribution will affect each beneficiary
• Your income-- existing and prospective
• Overall health (mental, emotional, physical)
• Other issues such as guardians for children or grandchildren, and donations to charity

The abovementioned considerations are just some of the essential aspects of estate planning. To most people, estate planning is governed by just drawing up wills. This should not be the case because in some cases, living trusts may prove to be the suitable document. In order to make a clear distinction between these two, it is best to define each.

In simple terms, a will is a legal document that outlines how you would want your estate to be handled after your death. A process called probate is essential to the validation of your will. A probate just means that your will requires court administration. The executor, either a lawyer or any person indicated in the will who is assigned responsibility to the assets, must see through every process during probate. The court, on the other hand, will look at issues regarding your estate and its distribution, as well as payments for whatever obligation you have left. Since there is court involvement, the process can take up to several months to years to complete. This may be costly too, since a lawyer is needed to supervise in trials and other legal affairs.

A living trust is just like a regular will, except that there is no probate. Consequently, you have more control over how your assets are distributed. Amendments can also be made with living trusts, unlike with a will that cannot be modified once it is written.

Now, when it comes to choosing which is better between a living trust and a will, the answer would depend on several factors. For instance, if the value of your estate is less than $20,000, in this case, the probate process is nominal and there is only a need for an Affidavit of Entitlement if there is a need to transfer properties. Thus, it is recommended to just have a simple will rather than a living trust. On the other hand, if your estate amounts to more than $ 20, 0000, it is very likely that probate is more complex and thus, expensive. 

Although you can obviously save more if you choose to draw up a will instead of a living trust, your savings do not even come close to compensating for the hassle and expense of probate. Then again, your choice on how to ideally go about estate planning still depends largely on your current and future affairs.