If You Have a Trust, Do You Need a Will?
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
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If you have a Revocable Living Trust, do you need a Last Will and Testament?
When someone dies with assets in their name, like real estate, or interests in a business, or investments, those assets will be frozen when they die, even if they have a Will disposing of them, and their survivors are stuck hiring lawyers and all will go through a court process commonly referred to as probate, or in , a Succession.
Many people, in an effort to simplify their estate settlement and avoid the court process, often create a revocable living trust, and they transfer title of their assets to their trust while they are alive, so that when they pass away, the court process is avoided because assets in a trust bypass the whole “settle your estate through the court system” process. You simply designate a Successor Trustee of your trust who can immediately sell or disburse assets from your trust to your trust beneficiaries, all outside of government supervision.
Your trust replaces the Will because the trust instrument governs who gets what as it relates to trust assets.
But even if you establish your revocable living trust, you still need to have a Will just in case assets are in your name when you die. Maybe you left something out of trust. Perhaps you acquired an asset or account in your name after you established your trust, and you forgot to title it in the name of your trust.
Someone who utilizes a revocable living trust often has a last will that is often referred to as their “pour-over” Will because it pours over the assets in your name at your death to your trust. It is there only as a "catch-all" to cover assets that should have been, but were not for some reason, put in your trust before you died.
Now, your pour-over Will may never be used because everything you have either has a beneficiary designation, is titled in the name of your trust when you die, or survivors will somehow have access to the asset upon your death.
So, in summary, if you have a revocable living trust that is designed to avoid probate and provide for the distribution of your estate when you die, you’ll also have a Will, but your Will may never need to be used because the Will is there as a "catch-all" to allow for the transfer of assets that are in your name when you die and require a probate to access.
This post is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. Please do not act or refrain from acting based on anything you read on this site. Using this site or communicating with Rabalais Estate Planning, LLC, through this site does not form an attorney/client relationship.
Paul Rabalais
Estate Planning Attorney
www.RabalaisEstatePlanning.com
Phone: (225) 329-2450
Trusts are great for avoiding probate and managing assets, but they don’t cover everything. For example, a will can designate guardians for minor children or address assets you didn’t place in the trust before passing. Skipping a will could create unnecessary complications for your loved ones
Not exactly. Trusts are great for avoiding probate and managing assets, but they don’t cover everything. For example, a will can designate guardians for minor children or address assets you didn’t place in the trust before passing. Skipping a will could create unnecessary complications for your loved ones.
That’s what happened to my uncle. He only had a trust and left out some bank accounts and personal property. It became a nightmare for his kids to sort out! I’ve been thinking about updating my own documents but don’t know where to start.
I’m more worried about ensuring my investments grow while I’m still around. I’ve been burned before trying to manage things myself, and with inflation and market risks, I can’t afford another mistake.
I get it, That’s why I started working with Joseph Nick Cahill, a Chartered Financial Analyst. He specializes in balancing long-term goals and risk tolerance, and he’s helped people turn portfolios worth $250K into over $3 million. He even gives free consultations, which was a huge plus for me when I was unsure about my next steps.
I get it. That’s why I started working with Joseph Nick Cahill, a Chartered Financial Analyst. He specializes in balancing long-term goals and risk tolerance, and he’s helped people turn portfolios worth $250K into over $1 million. He even gives free consultations, which was a huge plus for me when I was unsure about my next steps.
It helps. Thank you
If you buy a car, does that have to be bought in the name of the trust? Thanks for all the information you provide.
Only if you want to transfer that asset when you're gone.
If you have a funded Living Trust, do those accounts inside the trust need beneficiaries?
I have designated beneficiaries for my brokerage accounts. Will my beneficiaries be able to dispose of them upon my death without probate?
Beneficiaries have the "benefit" of bypassing probate. That's why they're called beneficiaries. ^_~