Establishing an estate plan is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself and your loves ones in the event of your incapacity or upon your death. Proper estate planning is one of the greatest acts of love toward your family. Careful planning spares your loved ones the expense, delay and frustration associated with the failure to plan. This planning spares your loved ones the expense, delay and frustration associated with managing your affairs when you pass away or become incapacitated.

The following will inform you on the misconceptions of Trusts in general.

Trust:

On a very basic level, a living trust is an alternate way of owning assets such as cash, stocks, bonds, real estate and personal property. As an estate planning tool, it allows one to maintain privacy and avoid the expense and inconvenience of guardianship and probate. You decide who safeguards and manages the trust should you become incapacitated, thus avoiding guardianship. With your assets in a trust, they automatically go to your beneficiaries when you die.

Will:

A will is a legal document that instructs how your property is to be distributed after your death. It may also designate guardians for your minor children. Unfortunately, your will does not save your estate from passing through the process of probate before it can be distributed to your heirs.