[USER]

I have minimal financial knowledge. Looking for some insights on Trust vs Will.

Or any other better options.

Which one to go for the future of my family?

Federal Employee in mid 30s with Wife & 2 kids (5yo & 2yo) .

I have some money and Real estate

and want to ensure our assets are managed and distributed effectively.

Considering our circumstances, which option would provide the best security and benefits for my family?”

[Katie]

Trusts and wills serve different purposes. Everyone needs a will to direct things after you pass.

If you have money or real estate you want to distribute when you pass, a Trust is likely the way to go.

[Laurie]

We had a will when it was just us, but once we had our daughter our attorney highly recommended a trust.

You can’t give inheritance to a minor (at least where I live) so with a trust we were able to name trustees to take care of our daughter and handle her finances until she reaches a certain age at which point she would inherit the trust.

(We actually have different custody for her than the financial trustees due to the person we want to raise her not being great with money).

A will is part of the trust.

The hard thing about a trust is you have to move all of your property to the name of the trust like your house and possibly bank accounts and make sure the trust is names as the beneficiary of all of your investment and retirement accounts otherwise I believe anything not in there will go to probate which you want to avoid.

Again, I am NOT a legal professional, just remembering what our attorney told us 4 years ago when I was wrangling a 9 month old

[Ralph]

Both. A trust will bypass probate and can be written to protect all your kids from having their spouses (future) from getting stuff.

[Ian]

For purely financial matters, a trust is the better option.
Probate is the process of distributing the assets of a deceased person.

The probate process can be arduous, even when it is clear and organized [by a will].

A will gives directives for how to distribute assets, but the [probate] process to get it done is still arduous.

A trust allows you to organize the assets before your passing, so it bypasses the entire probate process.

A will can give non-financial directives or reveal information that wouldn’t be appropriate in a trust, like who should get custody of your children, or who really broke the fence when you were 9 years old, so a trust doesn’t completely replace a will, but for financial matters a trust is the better option.

[Angela]

A will only works when you’re dead and it guarantees probate.
A trust works while you’re alive (and after death) and eliminates probate.

Trusts usually work best in conjunction with a will.

And usually other documents (like medical & financial power of attorney) that designate a trustee to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do it yourself even though you’re still alive.

Toby Mathis on YouTube has a few videos that do an excellent job explaining all of this.

I just had my trust done 2 weeks ago for $5400 WA state.

In my opinion, almost everybody should have these documents in place, especially if you have children under the age of 30.

[John]

It’s not either-or. They are apples and oranges. Trust is to protect larger assets from the probate process.

Will says who gets your smaller ‘stuff’, who takes custody of your kids if you die, etc.

[Author]

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