Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Listen to the lawyers. Probate and estate administration are not in themselves expensive. In some other states, administration is expensive and there might be a reason in those states for putting property into a trust.

There is also a danger with setting up a trust. It may still be a part of your estate and subject to administration, so the trust, in and of itself, would not "save" any money.

You may dispose of all of your assets in a will and wills often create trusts when there are appropriate reasons for doing so. There may be other compelling reasons for creating a trust, but not as stated to prevent lawyer from expecting to make more money probating the will.

Bear in mind that a lot of the "public advice" is from trust mills, companies that entice people to create trusts on the dubious and often false premise that it will save probate costs. Those trust mills will just as happily charge you $2,000 and more to give you some trust document that is not tailored to your particular needs and may not ever be properly set up.

This response is not legal advice, since I do not have all of the information that would be required, and I do not have a representation agreement with you.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

Its a question of whether you pay now or pay later. It costs $1000 or more to do a trust properly in your lifetime Probate can be hideous or easy depending on the state where you live. You can also set up a testamentary trust by having it in your will.

You have 6 children. Do all of them agree on everything all of the time? If not, then leaving the land to all of them is not a good idea, especially as you advised that some do not want the land and that they are prosperous. In that case, a trust of some kind (either living trust or testamentary trust) may make sense.

If that is the case, focus on what you want to do. If the kids do not want the land, have it be sold and your executor can divide the money 6 ways. Or direct that those who want the land have to buy out the shares of those who don't.

Given that your land is valued at $800,000, I do not know what else you have. The tax laws are changing, but if you have over $1 million in assets, you could easily incur estate tax. I am not a tax lawyer nor do I do estate planning to manage tax liability. It sounds to me as though you might benefit from a marital A&B trust to reduce the federal taxes owed. If that is the case, you need to have this set up properly by an attorney. This is not an area where you should save on costs by doing it cheaply.

See a lawyer. You are paying the lawyer for advice so I would not be listening to friends and relatives. There situation is not the same as yours and you should not rely on them for advice.