Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Missouri

Re: Wills vs. Trusts

Wills may contain trust provisions, these are known as testamentary trusts. Trusts may be created during life time and these are known as intervivos (living) trusts. If you are attempting to delay when a child's inheritance is delivered to them, then you will use either type of trust. You should consult with a qualified trust and estate lawyer in your area for further information.

Re: Wills vs. Trusts

Trusts are relatively private; wills go through a more complex public process called probate. Only the will would specify who would become your children's personal guardians (take care of them) and, no matter what, it is subject to some oversight by the courts, i.e., someone could come and object and get a judge to override your choice, though that is unlikely; both the law and judges want to use your selection. Now if the person you selected had, say, just murdered you and a few neighborhood kids, a judge might be convinced that he was unfit for the position. Trusts don't affect such guardianships of the children.

Either a will or trust can establish how your assets are handled and by whom; the trust allows a little less oversight by courts than would a will. Wills establish trusts, usually, at your death (or the death of the second of you and your spouse) while trusts can also be established while you are alive. If you go the latter route, you can fill up the trust(s) with your assets (called funding) either while you are alive or at your death by having the will "pour-over" whatever's left to the trust. The major difference between the two is that if you fund up the trust while you are alive, there's that much less that has to go through probate, which is a hairy, relatively cumbersome procedure usually handled by lawyers for a fee which depends upon how much money is in the estate. (I've actually handled a probate case in St. Louis.)

You probably ought to let a lawyer advise you on the subject after learning your particular situation and concerns.

Are you in or near St. Louis? If so, please contact me directly for a referral; I personally know rather well six estate planning attorneys in St. Louis (not to mention two accountants, one excellent broker and a nationally renowned financial planner and insurance expert). After asking you a small series of questions, would know which one or two I'd recommend for you.

Write to me at [email protected] or call me at (617) 527-0050.

If you are not near St. L, I can probaby get you a good referral to someone who practices full time estate planning (accept no substitutes! Don't go with an attorney who does it as one of his many services; it's a specialty.).