A Trust is an estate planning document that allows a person to transfer title to their individually owned assets into the Trust and control the terms of how those Trust assets pass to their beneficiaries upon death. Trusts provide several advantages over Wills.
Avoid Probate
Beneficiaries of Trusts don’t have to undergo a lengthy probate process like those of Wills. The grantor’s assets are transferred to the Trust, and upon the grantor’s death, the Trust assets pass outside of probate to the beneficiaries, which results in saving the beneficiaries time and money associated with the probate process.
Protection From Creditors
Assets that pass to beneficiaries through a Will typically require probate administration. While beneficiaries under a Will typically cannot be personally liable for their loved one’s debts, a decedent’s creditors are provided notice of the opening of a probate estate and have the opportunity to file claims in the estate. The result is that the decedent’s assets are not protected from creditors. With a Trust, a deceased grantor’s assets pass to their beneficiaries through the Trust, and as a result, the assets bypass probate and are not subject to creditor claims.
Grantor Control
The grantor simply has more control over a Trust than a Will. A grantor can include provisions in their Trust that put “guardrails” or “conditions” upon the distribution of Trust assets to their beneficiaries. This type of control is typically unavailable with Wills. For individuals who are concerned about financially irresponsible beneficiaries, Trusts can be a great option because the successor trustee, the individual or entity who assumes control of the Trust administration after the death of the grantor, may have significant discretion with respect to making distributions to the beneficiaries.
Easy and Fast Access
If you want your loved ones to have quicker access to their inheritances, Trusts afford that flexibility. With a Trust, depending upon the way the Trust is structured, your beneficiaries can have significantly quicker access to their inheritances. They do not have to go through the probate process and wait for the creditor claim period to expire, as is the case with Will’s.
If you would like to learn more about Trusts, please contact one of our estate planning attorneys at 901-388-5805.
