{"id":662,"date":"2016-04-08T07:17:39","date_gmt":"2016-04-08T11:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flestatelaw.com\/?p=662"},"modified":"2019-05-13T18:15:44","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T18:15:44","slug":"wills-trusts-dying-intestate-how-they-differ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/2016\/04\/08\/wills-trusts-dying-intestate-how-they-differ\/","title":{"rendered":"Wills, Trusts, & Dying Intestate: How They Differ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Most people understand that having some sort of an estate plan is, as Martha Stewart would say,\u00a0<\/span>a \u201cgood thing.\u201d However, many of us don\u2019t take the steps to get that estate plan in place because\u00a0<\/span>we don\u2019t understand the nuances between wills and trusts \u2013<\/span>\u00a0and dying without either.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Here\u2019s what will generally happen if you die: intestate (without a will or trust), with a will, and\u00a0<\/span>with a trust. For this example, we\u2019re assuming you have children, but no spouse:<\/span><\/div>\n
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1. Intestate.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>If you should die intestate, your estate will go through probate and all the\u00a0<\/span>world will know what you owned, what you owed, and who got what. Your mortgage\u00a0<\/span>company, car loan company, and credit card companies will all seek payment on balances\u00a0<\/span>you owed at the time of your death. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

After that, state law will decide who gets what and when.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  • For example, if your only heirs are your children and you have not provided any\u00a0<\/span>instructions, state law will mandate divvying up proceeds equally.<\/li>\n
  • Your older children will get their shares immediately if t<\/span>hey\u2019ve attained\u00a0<\/span>adulthood.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • But, the court will appoint a guardian to manage the money for your minor\u00a0<\/span>children until they become adults. <\/span><\/li>\n
  • Shockingly, that guardian can charge a lot of money and be a total stranger as\u00a0<\/span>can the guardian who raises your child. <\/span><\/li>\n
  • Yes, if you die without a valid will, the court, not you, will decide who raises\u00a0<\/span>your minor children.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    Keep in mind that since your death has been published to alert valid creditors, it\u2019s not<\/span>
    \nuncommon for predators (fake creditors) to come forth and make demands for payment\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>even if they\u2019re not owed anything.<\/span><\/div>\n
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    The bottom line? Dying intestate allows state law and the court to make all the decisions\u00a0<\/span>on your behalf\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>\u00a0regardless of what your intent might have been. Publicity is guaranteed.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
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    2. Will.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>If you should die with a valid will, your assets will\u00a0<\/span>still\u00a0<\/span>go through the probate\u00a0<\/span>process. However, after creditors have been satisfied, the remaining assets go to whom\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019ve identified in your will. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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    • So, if you want to leave money to your children and name a guardian for the\u00a0<\/span>minor ones, the court will usually abide by your wishes. \u00a0<\/span>\u25cf\u00a0<\/span>The same holds true if you specified that you wanted to give assets to a charity,<\/span>your Aunt Betty, or your neighbor. \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Keep in mind that predatory creditors are still an issue as your death has been\u00a0<\/span>publicized. Even with a will, probate is a public process.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The bottom line? While a court oversees the process, having a will allows you to tell the\u00a0<\/span>court exactly how you want your estate to be handled. But, a public probate is still\u00a0<\/span>guaranteed.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      3.\u00a0<\/span>Trust.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>If you\u2019ve created a trust, you\u2019ve taken control of your estate plan and your assets.\u00a0<\/span>Trust assets are\u00a0<\/span>not<\/span>\u00a0subject to the probate process and one of the most important benefits\u00a0<\/span>of trusts is that they are\u00a0<\/span>private<\/span>. Notices are not published, so you avoid predators\u00a0<\/span>coming after your estate. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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      • You\u2019ll have named a trustee to manage your estate with specific instructions on how your\u00a0<\/span>assets should be dispersed and when.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • One word of caution\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>\u00a0trusts must be funded in order to bypass probate. <\/span><\/li>\n
      • Funding means that your assets have been retitled in the name of your trust.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Think of your trust as a bushel basket. You must put the apples into the basket as\u00a0<\/span>you must put your assets into the trust for either to have value.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        You do still need a will to pour any assets inadvertently or intentionally left out of your\u00a0<\/span>trust and to name guardians for minor children.<\/span><\/div>\n
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        The bottom line? Trusts allow you to maintain control of your assets through your chosen\u00a0<\/span>trustee, avoid probate, and leave specific instructions so that your children are taken\u00a0<\/span>care of\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>\u00a0without receiving a lump sum of money at an age where they are more likely to\u00a0<\/span>squander it or have it seized from them.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
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        Don\u2019t let the will versus trust controversy slow you down. Call the office today; we\u2019ll put\u00a0<\/span>together an estate plan that works for you and your family whether it be a will, trust, or both.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Most people understand that having some sort of an estate plan is, as Martha Stewart would say,\u00a0a \u201cgood thing.\u201d However, many of us don\u2019t take the steps to get that estate plan in place because\u00a0we don\u2019t understand the nuances between wills and trusts \u2013\u00a0and dying without either. Here\u2019s what will generally happen if you die: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5676,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662\/revisions\/5676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}