Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Maryland

Re: Will vs. Living Trust

Living Trusts tend to be vastly oversold. They basically have two benefits: privacy and avoidance of probate. They also can be a pain--you need to make sure your bank accounts, house, cars, furniture, stock, etc. is all owned by the trust. When you write a check for groceries, it comes out of the trust. If you don't put an asset in the trust, it will have to go through probate anyway. They are also much more expensive than basic wills.

I normally recommend living trusts where people are concerned about privacy issues, where they are older, or were there are other circumstances that warrant their use. Whether one would be right for you depends on your particular circumstances, which you should review with an attorney.

Brett Weiss

Brett Weiss, P.C.

18200 Littlebrooke Drive

Re: Will vs. Living Trust

This answer is intended to provide general information only and is not intended as legal advice. If more information is desired, please make an appointment with your attorney to discuss you particular situation in greater detail.

While everyone needs to have an estate plan, no one "needs" to have a living trust. A trust can be a very flexible method of planning your estate and peddlers of such trusts often claim that they avoid probate. That is only partially true, and probate is rarely the horrible and expensive process that such persons whould have you believe. Nor will a trust result in avoidance of most death or inheiritance taxes.

Trusts are generally more involved and therefore more expensive than simple wills and also involve retitling of all of your assets to "fund the trust" and make it effective. Both are valid estate planning tools.

Susan Zuhowski

The Law Offices of Susan Zuhowski, P.A.

P.O. Box 1466