Hi this is Lee Phillips.
I want to talk to you for a minute about the question
Do I need a will or a living revocable trust?
and this is something that I've dealt with for a long time.
I've done trusts for years and years
well more like decades
but
I can't answer the question for you.
If you have property,
real property: bank account, car, brokerage account,
then you probably need the living revocable trust.
Mom and dad probably need the living revocable trust.
If there really isn't much property,
then we don't have to worry about the living revocable trust
use a will.
A young couple who are going to school
they have basically nothing
but they have a kid
the kid needs a guardian appointed in a will
and it's a disaster---I've got other YouTubes on how to appoint guardians
but the guardian has got to be there
and it's named in the will
that guy is named in the will.
So even a young couple
who doesn't have any assets to speak of
they need the will to protect their children.
So they have different functions--the will and the trust
the will names the guardian
names the personal representative
and it can divide up the property
say who gets what after the person dies.
But you got to remember
a will is always going to be probated.
The will has no legal teeth to it
until it goes through the probate process.
On the other hand, the living revocable trust
if you manage it properly
and I've got lots of YouTubes on how to manage your trust
or what to do with trusts.
If the trust owns the property
then you will not go through the probate process.
So if there's property involved then you probably want the trust
because you don't want to have to go through the probate process.
And in fact you're gonna say, "Well, do I have enough money to have the trust?"
It really isn't a matter of money.
My dad the other day came to me
and I've done everything I can for my dad
and he says, "Look.
I figured out I've got this bank account
this credit union account
that I set up 45 years ago with mom.
It's got $250 in it.
We left enough money in it to keep it open."
And I'm going, oh my gosh.
It was in his name.
I said, "Dad go down, close the account, and get the 250 bucks, get it out of there."
Because if he dies,
it's gonna cost me more than $250
to go get that account.
I'll just leave the account.
So it really isn't a matter of how much money's in the account.
The question is
is it worth going through the probate process to get it out
or would you rather have it in the living revocable trust
and just have it go instantly
without any probate process.
So
primary question, what do I have
not how much, but what
and if that what is gonna have to have a probate proceeding
then I probably want the trust.
Mom's dying
she's older
the house has been sold she's living in the rest home
she's got a bank account the daughters name is on it as joint tenant
that's a mistake
we talk about that in other YouTubes
but in this case I'll let you have it, okay?
Mom doesn't have anything to probate
she doesn't need a living revocable trust
she may not even need a will in that case
unless there's something that she needs to "send to the kids"
and by the way it's always not the money
it's the dollies and the doilies in the treadle sewing machine
that's where the fight is
and I can get rid of those easier
in the trust than I can the will
in most states
some states have have given us permission
to make out lists within the will
and then append them to the will
some states haven't
so depends on which state you're in if that's a possibility
but in a trust I can always list those things out very easily
and we can send them where we want them.
So trust or will?
I don't know.
You're gonna have to decide
and it's primarily what's the probate potential
of the individual that I'm looking at.
This is Lee Phillips trying to answer the question,
Do I need a will or a living revocable trust?