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The need for a will as a key component of your estate plan may seem obvious, but you\u2019d be surprised by the number of people \u2014 even affluent individuals \u2014 who don\u2019t have one. A reason for this may be a common misconception that a revocable trust (sometimes called a \u201cliving trust\u201d) obviates the need for a will.<\/p>\n
Purpose of a will<\/strong><\/p>\n True, revocable trusts are designed to avoid probate and distribute your wealth quickly and efficiently according to your wishes. But even if you have a well-crafted revocable trust, a will serves several important purposes, including:<\/p>\n The last point is important, because for a revocable trust to be effective, assets must be titled in the name of the trust. It\u2019s not unusual for people to acquire new assets and put off transferring them to their trusts or simply forget to do so.<\/p>\n To ensure that these assets are distributed according to your wishes rather than a formula mandated by state law, consider having a \u201cpour-over\u201d will. It can facilitate the transfer of assets titled in your name to your revocable trust.<\/p>\n Make it your decision, not your state\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n Although assets that pass through a pour-over will must go through probate, that result is preferable to not having a will. Without a will, the assets would be distributed according to your state\u2019s intestate succession laws rather than the provisions of your estate plan. Contact us with questions regarding your will or overall estate plan.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2021<\/em><\/p>\n <\/body> The need for a will as a key component of your estate plan may seem obvious, but you\u2019d be surprised by the number of people \u2014 even affluent individuals \u2014 who don\u2019t have one. A reason for this may be a common misconception that a revocable trust (sometimes called a \u201cliving trust\u201d) obviates the need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9,10],"tags":[8,11,12],"class_list":["post-15766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-estates","category-news","tag-articles","tag-news","tag-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15766\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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