Do I need a will, a trust, or both?

The short answer

Almost every adult needs a will. A significant number of adults also benefit from a revocable living trust, but not everyone. The right answer depends on four factors: whether you want to avoid probate, how much you value privacy, the complexity of your assets, and your state's laws.

What a will does

A Last Will & Testament is a legal document that directs how your assets are distributed after you die, names an executor to carry out those wishes, and, critically, names a guardian for any minor children.

What a will does not do: it doesn't avoid probate. Any asset that passes through your will goes through the court-supervised probate process. In Illinois, probate is required for estates with assets exceeding $100,000 or that include real property titled in the decedent's name alone.

• Names who gets your property
• Appoints an executor (the person who administers the estate)
• Nominates a guardian for minor children
• Does not avoid probate
• Becomes a public record after death

What a revocable living trust does

A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement where you transfer assets into a trust during your lifetime. You remain the trustee, you manage everything exactly as you do now, but the trust owns the assets. At death, a successor trustee distributes those assets to your beneficiaries without court involvement.

The key advantage is probate avoidance. Assets held in trust pass directly to beneficiaries, usually within weeks rather than months. The trust document is also private, it doesn't become a public court record the way a will does.

• Avoids probate for trust assets
• Remains private, never filed with a court
• Allows a successor trustee to manage your assets if you're incapacitated
• More complex and somewhat more expensive to set up properly
• Requires funding, assets must be re-titled into the trust

When a will alone is enough

For many people, especially younger adults with modest assets, no real estate, and beneficiary designations already in place on their retirement accounts and life insurance, a will is sufficient. If your estate is unlikely to go through probate (because your assets pass via beneficiary designation or joint ownership), a trust adds cost and complexity without benefit.

When a trust makes sense

A trust is worth considering if any of the following apply: you own real estate in your name alone, you have significant assets that don't pass via beneficiary designation, you want to avoid the delay and expense of probate, you value keeping your estate distribution private, you have a blended family or want conditions on when beneficiaries receive assets, or you own property in more than one state.

Why most trust-based plans include both

A living trust only controls what's inside it. Any asset you forget to transfer into the trust, or any asset acquired after the trust is created, won't be covered. That's where a "pour-over will" comes in. It's a companion will that catches any unfunded assets and pours them into your trust at death. Every complete trust-based plan should include a pour-over will.