Getting an estate plan drawn up is vital to your emergency preparedness. At some point, everyone will pass away, so it is better to be prepared and have a plan set out for your family. Many people wonder whether they should put all of their assets into a trust or a will. Generally speaking, you should put the majority of your money, property and assets into a trust, here are a couple reasons why.
1. A Trust Is More Private
One of the major differences between a trust and a will is that a will goes on public record while a trust does not. A will has to go through a process called probate. This is when the courts oversee the execution of the will, and in the process, they put all of the will, its contents and amount of wealth and assets on a public record. Most people don't like the idea of having their entire life work on public record for anyone to see. This is why a trust is better. It provides you more privacy and will give your family more privacy after you pass away.
2. You Can Better Control A Trust
When you create a revocable living trust, you maintain control over the torts before you pass away. You can choose how the money is handled and what conditions must be met before people can get their money. Then after you pass away, the conditions are put in place to qualify the money in the trust.
For example, if you don't want your children to have all their money at the same time, instead you want them to be given a stipend each year, you can put that in the trust and the money will be distributed. You can put special conditions in
3. A Trust Has Certain Tax Protections
Trusts are great because they are protected from some taxes. If you leave your money outright to your children, it may be taxed after you pass away. However, a trust has certain tax protections. This doesn't mean that your children won't pay any taxes on the property and money that you leave them, but it will mean that the taxes are more reasonable.
These are just a few of the many reasons why people choose to put their wealth in a trust when estate planning.