A will is the series of instructions you leave for your loved ones and the probate court on how to handle your assets when you die. It is one document within an “estate plan.”

Your will allows you to designate who you want to represent your estate during the probate process and to whom your assets should be distributed at your death. This includes:

· Designating a guardian for your minor children
· Identifying your heirs
· Designating your Personal Representative to handle the process of administrating the estate
· Identifying exactly how you want your assets to be distributed, including instructions for paying third parties and taxes
· Establishing how you would like your remains disposed of: cremation or burial

Your will is filed with the probate court to be used upon your death. Your will does not control any distribution of your assets during your lifetime or if you become incapacitated.

At Moore Legacy Law, your estate plan is less about completing a draft of the document and more about helping you understand your options, how they work together, and whether there are more efficient ways to distribute your assets at your death, such as putting your assets into a trust to avoid probate court.

A will does not avoid probate court. Probate court eats up a lot of time and money. To avoid your estate being probated upon your death, you need a trust-based estate plan.

A trust is a legal relationship between three entities: a grantor (the person who makes the trust), the Trustee (the person who holds in their possession the property held in trust), and the beneficiary (the person or entity that benefits from the property held in the trust).

The grantor gives the Trustee the right to distribute assets held in the trust upon the grantor’s death. The trust agreement outlines the rules the Trustee must follow including:

· Instructions on how to administer the trust at the incapacity or death of the creator

· Instruction on how to hold or distribute trust property at the death of creator

· Avoid probate – which eats up time and money, causing delays in distributing inheritances and smaller amounts to be distributed

· Better control how assets are distributed: Everything in a will goes “outright” to your beneficiaries – they get the whole amount (after probate fees) as soon as it’s available (after probate delays). With a trust, you can make stipulations. For example, you can detail when you’d like your minor children to receive payments and how much each should be. (And again, this is huge: you avoid probate fees and delays.)

· Protect beneficiaries from their own creditors as well as yours

· Help minimize the Estate Tax