Need advice - did you get a Will or a Trust?

[mookie]

Hi All,

DH and I met with our financial planner last week and we are trying to set up our estate planning. He had a lawyer come in to talk to us about setting up either a will or a trust. The trust looks like it would be the way to go...but it is so expensive! (He wants $1800 to do it, but will move all of our assets over to our trust for us, as well. He said that most lawyers don't transfer assets, they just set up the trust.) The Will is definitley the cheaper way to go ($450) but of course the lawyer made it sound like our estate will be in the court probate for years and it will cost lots of money for our beneficieries, which we obviously don't want, either.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this? We are both in our (very) early 30's with a 2 year old and one on the way. Just not sure what to do, and plunking down $1800 is a lot to swallow, even if it is for our future.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I would get a will at this point, it should be sufficient. Down the road, you might want to look into a trust, but in the meantime, a well-written will should suffice.

 

[mookie]

Thanks for the advice Bob...I think I am leaning towards that. It's just such a hard decision...and obviously one that is uncomfortable to talk about at times given the negative thought.

Anyone else have any ideas or opinions? Do you have a will or a trust?

 

[golfgal]

We had a lawyer draw up a will and while he was doing so noticed that the way things were structured would cause us to have to pay huge taxes if DH died so he formed a trust and did whatever to get things reorganized (I know I own some of DH's life insurance policies and some other goofy things). It was about $250 to do everything though.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

For most people, a will is sufficient. There are exceptions--small business owners, for example, are benefitted by a trust, as are people with large assets.

We have wills, simple ones costs a couple hundred. My MIL, who has large assets and does a lot of estate planning, has a few different trusts--one for her house, one for her sons, another for the grandkids--you get the idea. The important thing is, if she gets sued, they can't get the house or other stuff in trust. I basically act as her "in-house counsel", if you will, discussing the best ways to shield her assets from taxes while providing the greatest benefit to her heirs and not leaving her feeling "poor".

You didn't say how your financial planner makes his money. It's possible that he gets $ for a referral. I have no problem with a planner making money, but you should know HOW he's making it, and take that into consideration when he makes his recommendations.

Feel free to PM me with any specific questions, as you can see, this is an area that interests me. It's good that you and DH are thinking about this.