What is a Living Will, a Living Trust, a Last Will, and most importantly, is there a difference? If so, what is the difference?
Some people refer to an Advance Directive as a living will. This kind of document allows you to name an agent to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to communicate. It also allows you to express treatment preferences so that your agent knows if you wish to be on life support at the end of your life or if you prefer to simply be kept comfortable and allowed to pass. Lastly, it allows you to tell your agent how you wish for your body to be disposed of after your death, for instance, do you wish to be cremated or buried and are you willing to donate your organs.
Some people refer to a Revocable Trust as a living trust. A revocable trust is a document that allows you to plan during your lifetime for how you wish to be cared for financially during incapacity and to determine who will inherit your assets after you pass. A trust can also lay out how the beneficiaries of your estate will receive their share. Some beneficiaries have disabilities, have poor money management skills, or are simply underage and leaving money to them outright would be ineffective and could cause serious problems. A trust allows you to determine if a Trustee should manage the money for them. A funded trust also avoids probate, which may important for families that have children from various marriages, people who do not have children and are leaving their estates to friends or charities, or people who want to leave their assets to people other than family. While Probate requires notification of heirs and leaves room for challenges, trusts don’t typically go through court proceedings and don’t require notification of heirs.
A Last Will or Last Will and Testament is a document that leaves your assets to the people you want after your death and is only effective after you pass. A Last Will does not have provisions for incapacity or asset management during life. You can create trusts in a Will and you do not have to leave your assets outright to your beneficiaries. While Wills do not avoid probate (the legal process after death that goes through the court system), for people who wish to leave everything to a spouse and shared children, a Will can be a highly effective planning tool. When a Last Will is combined with estate documents like the Financial Power of Attorney (sometimes called a durable power of attorney) and an Advanced Health Care Directive, you can be protected for whatever life throws your way.
We work with families and assets of all sizes to determine what plan works best for their particular situation. Contact Grissom Law, LLC today at 678-781-9230 to schedule an appointment to discuss your needs.
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