Most people want to avoid probate upon their deaths. This means that they may want to have a living trut based estate plan over a will based estate plan. But does this mean that you should create a living trust as part of your estate plan?

There is no simple answer to this question. Creating a living trust would generally mean that you have assets that would go through probate. When assets go through probate, the heirs have to hire an attorney. The attorney usually gets paid a fee of 3% of the probate assets. The probate process also takes from 6-9 months under most circumstances. Thus, revocable trust planning could save your heirs both time and money.

One of the first quesitons is if you want to save your heirs both time and money. Some people do not have close families that they want to try and save money for. Some people may not have a lot of probate assets in the first place, so there may be other ways to avoid probate that are even better than through a living trust. The other aspect of trust planning is that trusts are generally more expensive than wills, which means that if you want to spend less money with an attorney at this point in your life, you may want a will based estate plan.

The best way to know if you should have a living trust based estate plan is to sit down with an attorney who will review your assets, your goals and the best way to accomplish your goals. Our estate planning process will help you decide which way is best for you and your family.

We have a free guide to living trusts in Florida to help you make an educated decision as part of your estate plans.

D. Rep DeLoach III
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Estate Planning and Board Certified Elder Law Attorney