what is the difference between a will and a trust?

Answer 1

A will is a public document which only tells people what your final wishes are. The courts ultimately would decide how your estate would be paid out in the event of your death, including taxes. This is called probate and can last one or two years and cost your loved ones many thousands of dollars in legal fees.

A trust is an entity (such as a corporation) that is a private document. Only those named within can see the trust document. This entity becomes the holder of all assets you place into it. You might put the title of your home into the "Living" trust during your life. In the event that you pass, the home still remains an entity owned by the trust, but the trustee (beneficiary named in the trust) becomes the owner of the trust. In this way, there is no probate, total privacy, and no delay in the legal title of the assets within the trust. From the moment you are toe-tagged, your beneficiary is the owner of the trust and all assets within. These assets can be real estate, cars, financial accounts, or most anything of value.

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Answer 2

In a nutshell, a will is a document that tells what to do when a life ENDS. A will is used one time. Where as a trust is a document that lives on its own by creating an entity and the entity continues to give some type of instruction until a certain event occurs which may be never.

Answer 3

A will spells out who and what your next of kin will recieve of your property .It can be written on a regular piece of paper with the date and signature of the person who is writing the will. A trust is more legal and recommended when there is a larger estate and assets like cars, furniture,property etc.It has to be drafted by an attorney and notaraized .It typically can cost from $250- $350 to draft one up. If you own property, you should definitely get a living trust to avoid probate- or the court process that would eventually decide fory ou " who gets what".

Answer 4

A Will is a written document in special legal form by which a living person tells their desires for the disposal of their property upon death.A "Living Trust" is a trust set up and operational while the person is still alive. (That's why it's called a "living" trust.) It owns all the property of the person who sets it up;