Will vs Trust ?
General Topic
Good Morning All,
I am trying to decide if I want to stay with my Trust or go back Old School to a will. I am in the process of re-writing my Trust after getting the big 'D' last August and retirement in December 2017.
My family and I have had so much hassle with my Dad's Will, even though he is alive but in the VA home, as one family member has gone crazy with abuse----- myself and my siblings have spent $10k each on attorney fee's in court fighting the abuse/challenging of the Will by this one family member the last 3 years.
I'm not sure what to finalize with, a Trust or a Will.
I basically am just re-writing and making some changes as to who gets what ect.
My son Robbie and daughter Anne Marie get the brunt of savings acct.'s and much of the other materiel items, ground, my home, vehicles, ect is what I am spreading out thru friends and other family members.
My two all time favorite and my membership with them for so many years, RMEF and WSF are the only non-profits to be receiving/named.
Of course after 30 years, I have kept my ex wife getting some survivor benefits/asset$.
I mainly want to try and avoid any abuse/challenge of my final decisions.
Thanks for any input of value
Good luck, Robb
Robb - I’d find a lawyer that was good and also that I trusted and clearly communicate all your concerns and intentions with them. You’ve got a number of variables involved and having a good lawyer will mitigate issues later on.
At least that’s what we did with my mom and dad. I sat down with them first and then they went to a lawyer and asked more questions, explained their intentions and ended up going with a Trust for tax avoidance reasons.
-Mitch
The Jeep is still mine, right Robb? ;-)
A trust works better if you want to maintain control from the grave. Our family farm was in a trust because my bro went a little crazy and was dating a strang gal. Dad didn’t want him selling off his part of the farm or losing it in a divorce. He got his head out of his butt and things are good. I have a will with my son as executor. I also update it on a regular basis. If fact, I’m going to my financial advisor tonight and will update the will next week. Go chat with a lawyer you trust.
I wish my dad would have checked these things out, I've been in a legal battle for a few years with family members. Its not something I would have ever dreamed would happen and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
One of the more common sections of a trust removes the beneficiaries from receiving assets if the contest the trust!! In other words, your wishes are followed exactly . . . or they are OUT! It certainly does simplify the process after you are gone.
Got my wife and my property set up last year. We have both a will and a revocable trust. Like some have said. Get a good estate planning attorney. Best $2000 I have spent for peace of mind.
Make sure your ex is no longer listed as a beneficiary on your life insurance policy, if you have one. This happens more than people think. "Well, maybe that's what he/she wanted, so we have to honor that request." I had a friend that had his ex still listed and never realized it until I casually mentioned it to him over beers.
Invest in a good lawyer who specializes in these things. There's sneaky stuff, like if you end up needing long term medical care which can really mess things up. Imagine you have a stroke and need to live in a home for 3 years or something... Bite the bullet, seek out a good lawyer in your area who specializes in this sort of thing and have them set it up.
A well worded, defined will is hard to beat.
The short answer is to find an estate planning attorney in your state that you trust and that wants to listen to your wishes.
Despite the similarity of the intended end goal of the two, wills and trusts are entirely different vehicles. In some ways, it is like comparing two pass roads. On one hand, you have a simple, but well built gravel road (will), and on the other, you have a highly engineered and more costly built paved road that is intended to make the long haul more smooth (trust). Neither is necessarily better suited for every situation and either one can help you reach your destination, and both are better than going over the mountain without any planning. At the end of the day, however, both can be impacted by the unknown perils of the environment around them making it difficult to reach the intended destination (whether it is simple family discord, fighting in court, or a complete undermining of your wishes).
One of the nice things about a trust is that it allows you (your family) to bypass probate court. No attorneys or judges, just a round table meeting after your funeral. Your executor(s) explain to everyone else who gets what and, like mentioned above, provisions can be established to prevent any nastiness after the fact. You can also amend it throughout your life as assets are acquired or sold to stay current.
As stated above. Find an Estate Planning Attorney and hire them. Tell them what you want and they help draw up your WILL and your TRUST. You can have both. The will simply says who get's what (Possessions). The TRUST can hold your property and such in the family forever with whatever provisions you choose. I work in financial planning and recently had a client pass who was pretty well off. Here was one of his trust provisions.
1. His trust would spend $20,000 on a vehicle for every grandchild thru 8 generations if they passed HS with at least a 3.5 grade average.
2. He set up an income annuity stream where his Grandchildren all the way to his 6th (Great) yes like 8 generations would have all their college education paid for as long as they maintained a 3.0 GPA.
He had many other provisions like all buildings and homes would be sold with the $$$ 50% split by his kids and the other 50% went into the family trust. He owned like 3 homes and 6 buildings in surrounding towns. Quite the legacy.
Went through the same thing. I was the executor of the will, but that was worthless till he passed. We both had power of attorney. This was wrong. Having gone through what you are going through . I have since given all material things that I want each son to have and put in the will that at my death all of my possessions are to be sold. If one of them wants something then they buy it at the auction. Also only one will be power of attorney. Have seen this problem several times since I went through it. The problems at when you are alive . Will or trust only works at death. Definitely not fun! Greg
What has your attorney and financial advisor suggested.
It can often be handled simpler than you think. 1 designate beneficiaries 2 set up "transfer on death" or "pay on death" where it applies After that it should leave a rather simple will. Set up power of attorneys. Your state should have an on line form and instructions. State laws vary so spend a few bucks and get and attorney
"Estate planning advice from a bowhuting forum? what could go wrong?"
Well, to be fair, he did get good advice here on the bowhunting forum. Namely, to go get advice from a skilled estate planning attorney.
"Estate planning advice from a bowhuting forum? what could go wrong? " About the same as medical advice on a bowhunting forum :-)
Ben yehuda,
I don’t think you understand that Bowsite.com is all things to all bowhunters- which includes but not limited to topics including bowhunting, medical, marital, financial planning, estate planning, vehicle purchase, real estate, vacation/trip planning, food & beverage advice, etc.
It is Dr Phil, Susie Orman, Jerry Springer, HGTV, Food Network, Botched all rolled into one complete package.
If you can’t get an answer or opinion- then it is not to be had. Stay tuned !!
My wife and I have two adult daughters (Two grandchildren at the time) both well educated and financially independent. We worked with a trust attorney and put together what we thought made sense. We then had a meeting with the attorney and both daughters (One of whom is an attorney but not in estate planning) to review the trust. My wife and I then left the room telling the two girls and the trust attorney to sort out any differences / alternatives the girls might wish to bring up. After half an hour or so the girls came out and said they really didn't see anything they wanted to change. That was five years ago, one additional grandchild, and we've heard nothing since. Might not work for everyone but seemed appropriate for us.
Transfer on death for your financial accounts, living trust with your kids for the real estate and other assets. You will still have a Will and an Executor but your assets will go where they're supposed to.
Thanks for all the input and suggestions.
I think I have answered all the PM's and bigtime Thank You for those more private experiences.
Our Bowsite family has Always been very helpful and knowledgeable on numerous topics over the years, not just hunting.
I've done most everything suggested and like I stated, I am re-writing my Trust pretty much the same after my divorce last August, just changing a few of the Who gets What parts.
Good luck, Robb
Sorry Nick-------->
My Niece has first dib's on the JP!
#LovinLife
Robb
Oh man, a couple years ago I went through some crazy stuff with my dads estate....thankfully I had him amend and clarify his trust a couple years prior or it would have been really ugly.
The time to plan this stuff with an estate Atty is long before the event.
Probate can cost your heirs many times the costs of a trust.
"Probate can cost your heirs many times the costs of a trust."
^^^This, plus the lengthy delay as your will goes through probate can be tough. With a trust all that is avoided.
My advice, get an attorney that specializes in this stuff. Us on this board are not familiar with your situation and are not attorneys that specialize in this area. If there are such attorneys here, my opologies. We just had a trust done and it has a will within it. That might not be what you need
Most wills say "If anyone contests this will, they get nothing" I am paraphrasing for sure, but just want to bring up the point that just because it says that doesn't mean people can sue and get lawyers involved anyway.
Like many stated get a good estate lawyer dot every I and cross every T. Spell out what everyone gets to prevent any arguing. My brother and I found out the hard way after my sisters convinced my parents to take the family farm out of the trust and put it in the sibling name ,and after they past they found a law, we pay them what they ask or they can sell it. It cost us, and divided a very close family.
Yes tex.... my Dad had anyone that contest this will, shall receive $1 only.
But it didn't stop that one family member from going crazy for More than the rest of us.....
I've been told that every family has that one mooche and wants more than the rest.
Good luck, Robb
"Estate planning advice from a bowhuting forum? What could go wrong?"
For starters, how about provisions cutting out heirs who prefer mech BHs over fixed, stickbows over compounds (or -- perish the thought! -- x-bows), those who shoot too far, those who use Ozonics…. :)
I will offer this piece of advice Consult with an accountant as well when considering how to pass on as much value and avoiding the tax bite. I am a consulting forester and routinely prepare appraisals and depletion accounts so as to reduce the taxable income. You would be wrong if you think all I do is manage trees. Over the years I have realized the majority of my clients are older than I and will die before me. This frequently results in passing the land and timber to a family member. I have also seen land owners do everything possible to maximize the tax bite on the beneficiaries. Gifting timber before death may be generous but leaves the recipient with no basis in the timber. Putting the land and timber in a trust still leaves the beneficiary paying full freight on the income tax I believe. Inheriting an asset that is likely to be sold gives the recipient the best tax basis. I am not an accountant or lawyer but I have seen the results of all these decisions play out. Erik
