A trust is a legal contract that allows you to transfer assets to a trustee to be held and administered for the benefit of a beneficial.
Trusts can be structured to take effect before, after, or in case of incapacitation.
There are many different types of trusts, including living trusts, revocable trusts, and irrevocable trusts
Wills provide instructions on how to distribute your assets after you die. Trusts are legal contracts that allow you to transfer your assets, before or after death, to an account to be managed by yourself (if you are still living) or others. Importantly, assets held in trust do not need to go through probate court—allowing your beneficiaries to access their inheritances more easily and quickly.
Some trusts protect assets by separating ownership and control of the assets from the owner, and by including creditor protection provisions in the trust document.
A power of attorney is a legal document that allows someone else to act on your behalf.
A power of attorney states who you choose to act on your behalf when you cannot.
If you don’t create a power of attorney in advance, a friend or family member might have to go to court to have a guardian appointed if you become incapacitated and are no longer able to make decisions for yourself – and that process can be lengthy, expensive, and very public.
Wills and probate are related in that a will is part of the probate process, which is the legal process that distributes a person's assets after they die. Probate is the legal process that validates a will, pays debts, and distributes assets to the beneficiaries. The process involves filing the will with the probate court, proving the will's authenticity, and appointing an executor to administer the estate. The executor is usually a family member named in the will.