Trust or Will? A Trust Is Almost Always Better

If you are considering an estate plan, you need to take a close look at a trust.

Trusts are not always better than wills.  However, there are at least five scenarios that put trusts out front, according to Wicked Local Norwood in "Five Ways in which a trust is better than a will."

Those reasons include:

• With a trust you can avoid probate, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Most wills have to go through probate court.
• A trust can be drafted that protects your beneficiaries from creditors. If you give heirs money outright in a will, then any creditors they have can go after that money. Trusts avoid this problem.
• Special needs trusts can be used to give assets to people with disabilities, without making them ineligible for government benefits.
• Trusts can be used to reduce estate taxes in ways that are impossible to do with wills.
• With a trust, you can leave assets for minor children that are managed by a third-party without the unnecessary intervention of probate courts.

All that noted, wills have the benefit of a neutral judge overseeing the process and “testamentary trusts” can be created under wills that accomplish the same ends as those available through a revocable living trust that avoids probate.

An estate planning attorney can guide you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances and may well include a trust. Call (443) 470-3599 today and schedule a consultation with Maryland Attorney Britt L. Stouffer to learn more about Estate or Elder Law and how she can help you.

Reference: Wicked Local Norwood (May 14, 2017) "Five Ways in which a trust is better than a will."