Q. What is the difference between a Will and a Living Trust?  

A. Will, or "Last Will & Testament" as some prefer to call it, simply directs what happens to your estate after death and is governed by the costly and time consuming probate process. A Living Trust, as the name implies, provides benefits both during and after your lifetime. It enables your estate to avoid the probate process and has many other benefits unknown to a common Will.  

Q. What happens if you leave property to a person in your will and also leave the same property to another person in a Revocable Living Trust?  

A. The Trust takes precedence over the will. For example, if you leave $100,000 in stocks in a valid Will to John Doe, and then later execute a Revocable Living Trust leaving the same stocks to Jane Doe. Jane Doe receives the stocks upon your death because the trust takes precedence. Suppose further that you first place the stocks in a Revocable Living Trust for John Doe and later executed a valid will leaving the same stocks to Jane Doe. In this case, John Doe receives the stocks. The trust takes precedence over the Will no matter whether it was executed before or after the will.  

Q. What are the most important benefits of a Living Trust?  

A. The avoidance of a costly and lengthy probate process, will contests, unwanted publicity, ancillary administration of certain assets in another state, guardianship and in some instances, estate taxes.  

Q. Is a lawyer needed for the writing or execution of my trust?  

A. No, however an experienced estate planning attorney has the knowledge to properly design a trust based upon your specific financial and family situation.  

Q. Is my Revocable Living Trust legal everywhere?  

A. Yes, in all 50 states  

Q. Should I become incompetent or incapacitated after completing my Living Trust, will a probate or other court have the right to appoint a guardian to take care of my estate?  

A. No. Since you have already appointed a Trustee to administer your estate and provided explicit instructions about what is to be done in that event, the Trustee has all the authority needed to fill the role of a guardian, curator or executor.  

Q. Do I need both a regular Will, and a Revocable Living Trust?

A. Living Trust takes precedence over any Will you executed in the past. After you have conveyed title to all of your assets to a Trustee, you are no longer the owner of such property and a Will has no effect on it.

Q. Do I transfer ownership of ALL my assets to my Living Trust?

A. Yes, with obvious exceptions. For example, a valuable coin collection should be placed in trust; family photo albums you wish to go to a family member should not be; a used auto you plan to use for a short term would not be placed in trust.

Q. What about real estate and valuable automobiles, for example?

A. State laws require that most motor vehicles have a current Certificate of Title, and that all real estate be conveyed by a written document. Thus, ownership of these assets should be transferred legally to your Living Trust through the use of a Certificate of Title, Warranty Deed or Quit-Claim Deed. This must be recorded in the appropriate place.

Q. How do I choose my Trustee?

A. You are entrusting great responsibility to this person and that choice should be made with great care. Family members and close friends are your best prospects.

Q. What happens if my Trustee dies before I do?

A. You may appoint one or more Successor Trustees to take over in that event. If all of these were to pass on before you had appointed others, the court would appoint someone for you but would not supervise the administration of the estate.

Q. Can my Trustees be held accountable for honesty and diligence?

A. Yes. Your Trustees are responsible under the law, to both you and your beneficiaries, and can be sued and /or imprisoned for dishonesty or dereliction of their duties.