Wills FAQs

Yes, there are a couple of additional wills that serve different purposes. If you have a living trust, you may pass away while you are still in possession of some assets that you did not convey into it. To account for this, you can include a pour-over will that will facilitate the transfer of the assets into the trust. The ethical will stems from the Judaic tradition, and people have used them since biblical times. In this document, you record your moral and spiritual values for your loved ones to draw from going forward, and you can pass along any other words of wisdom that you would like to share.

Absolutely not, this is a misconception that some people harbor. A living will is a document that is very important, but it has nothing to do with monetary asset transfers.

You use a living will to record your preferences regarding the use of life-sustaining measures like resuscitation, artificial hydration and nutrition, and mechanical respiration. The document can also include your comfort care medication and organ and tissue donation preferences.

This is one of the incapacity planning documents that should definitely be part of your estate plan. Another one is a durable power of attorney for health care or health care proxy.

You name a representative to make medical decisions on your behalf in the power of attorney.
The power would apply to matters that are not related to the life-support decisions that you recorded in the living will.

Your plan should also include a durable power of attorney for property to name someone to act as a financial representative. If you have a living trust, you can name a disability trustee to administer the trust in the event of your incapacity.

No, if you are using a will as your sole asset transfer vehicle, the inheritors will receive lump sums all at once. They would be free to use the money as they see fit, and there would be no spending safeguards.
On the other hand, if you use a living trust to facilitate asset transfers, you can install a safety net. A spendthrift provision can be included, and the trust would become irrevocable after you pass away.
The beneficiary would not be able to access the assets in the trust, and their creditors would find themselves in the same position, so there would be asset protection. Plus, you can instruct the trustee to distribute limited assets incrementally to prevent irresponsible spending.

The revocable living trust is the ideal estate planning device for a wide range of people. If you establish a living trust, you would act as the trustee, so you would have total control of the assets.

As the name would indicate, you would also retain the right revocation, so your control would be absolute. In the trust declaration, you would name a successor trustee to act as the administrator after you are gone.

When the time comes, the trustee would distribute assets to the beneficiaries, and probate would not be a factor. This is a legal process that takes place under the supervision of a court.
It is time consuming and costly, and probate records are available to the public, so there is a loss of privacy.

A lot of individuals are under the impression that a will is usually going to be the best choice, but in reality, this is not the case.