Senior Living;

How do you choose between Revocable Trust, Will or Living Will?

Revocable Trust

More people should, as wills have basic shortcomings. If they have any imprecise language or lack in terrorem clauses (which threaten heirs that challenge them with disinheritance), they can invite lawsuits and other battles. If the author of a will is elderly, a spouse, ex-spouse or children could try to assert that the author had insufficient mental capacity at the time of authorship or wrote the will under undue influence. Assets within a revocable trust can avoid probate (assuming they have been properly transferred into the trust, of course). Upon the death of the grantor who established the trust, the grantor’s appointed trustee distributes the assets within the trust per the grantor’s wishes, no probate involved. The chance of a family fight over inherited assets lessens. While creating a revocable trust can cost ten times as much as creating a simple will, it may be worth every penny in the end.  

Will

Wills are made public; they are probated. While there are many non-probate assets that pass directly to a designated beneficiary or a joint tenant (jointly held bank accounts with right of survivorship, jointly titled real property, POD accounts, most types of IRAs and workplace retirement accounts), other assets do not. The length of the probate process varies by state. It takes weeks in some states, months in others. Probate requires money as well as time: even if you have named the most capable executor around, the court costs and lawyer and appraiser fees involved may still eat up as much as 5% of your estate (if you’re a millionaire, that’s $50,000). Mostly, those fees go for basic clerical work. If your estate planning goes no further than a will, you could be inviting a dispute and things may not turn out quite the way you want.  

Living Will

Living will consideration? Those can prove quite valuable. You may not die suddenly, and you could be incapacitated for a period just prior to your death. Should that be the case, a living will (also called an advance directive) can articulate how you want to be treated. Additionally, a health care proxy document can appoint someone (known legally as a health care agent) to authorize doctors and nurses to carry out those directions. A health care proxy is also crucial in instances when a younger individual becomes severely disabled. Opt for more control. When you pass away, your money will have only three possible destinations. Percentages of it will go either to your heirs, to charity, or to the government. [x_share title=”Share this Post” facebook=”true”]