What is the Difference Between a Will and a Revocable Living Trust in Georgia?

When planning your estate in Atlanta, GA, there are a lot of good options of estate planning tools that can each provide a benefit to your plan. The two primary estate planning documents in Georgia are wills and trusts and each one brings something different to the table.

However, you shouldn’t just include these estate planning tools in your plan without consulting an experienced Atlanta estate planning attorney. You should consider many factors when deciding whether to build your estate plan around a revocable living trust or a will. An experienced attorney can assist by making a comprehensive evaluation of your specific circumstances and clear up any misconceptions regarding living trusts and wills. At Trace Brooks Law, we can help you explore your options and determine which can help you fulfill your estate planning goals. 

Contact an Atlanta Estate Planning Attorney at Trace Brooks Law today to discuss whether a will or revocable living trust is right for you.

A will is a document in which you declare what you want to happen to the assets in your probate estate after your death. A will takes effect at your death, and must be formally acknowledged as valid by a court of law. Probate is the process of having the will acknowledged by the court. During the probate process, your will becomes part of the public record. The disposition of your estate’s assets is called estate administration.

Your will should appoint an executor to administer your estate and include guidance for the disposition of your probate assets. Your will can also name guardians for any minor children. Finally, your will can serve one of two roles: as your primary estate planning document or as a supporting document for a revocable living trust. The second type of will, known as a pour-over will, simply directs the executor to move all your probate assets into your revocable living trust.

A revocable living trust is a trust often used as a primary estate planning document. Revocable living trusts are more complicated to establish than wills but provide many additional benefits. Like a will, a revocable living trust can be amended or revoked at any time, as long as the grantor (the person creating the trust) is living and has capacity. Because revocable living trusts become effective immediately (i.e., during life instead of at death), the grantor names a trustee (often, the grantor and trustee are the same person) to manage the assets in the trust during the grantor’s lifetime. The grantor should also name a successor trustee (and sometimes more than one) to take over trustee duties when the grantor trustee becomes incapacitated or dies. 

For a revocable living trust to control assets during the grantor’s life, assets must be formally transferred to the revocable living trust – called “funding the trust.” During the grantor’s life, the revocable living trust may be funded with real property, personal property, or other assets. Further, the revocable living trust should also be named as the designated beneficiary on various accounts. At the grantor’s death, the revocable living trust will receive all the assets on which it is the designated beneficiary and all the probate assets as directed by the pour-over will (a necessary supporting document for a revocable living trust). 

If the grantor trustee does not transfer all assets to the revocable living trust during their lifetime, subject to a beneficiary designation, or through joint ownership with rights of survivorship, assets will likely end up in the probate estate. If this happens, your pour-over will must be admitted to probate to ensure the assets in your probate estate are transferred to your revocable living trust.

Once all assets are in the revocable living trust, the trust acts just like a will – directing the disposition of your assets and payment of debts – with one important distinction: privacy. Unlike a will, which requires a formal acknowledgment process and entry into the public record, a revocable living trust has no such requirements. 

Choosing between a will or a revocable living trust as your primary estate planning document is a personal decision. Many clients balance the initial lower cost and ease of implementation of a will-based estate plan with the additional benefits of a revocable living trust that may apply to their unique situation. 

Contact an Atlanta Estate Planning Attorney at Trace Brooks Law today to discuss whether a will or revocable living trust is right for you.