Wills and Trusts

Consulting with a St. Louis estate planning attorney regarding preparing wills and trusts is essential as you have children and expand your family, or as you begin acquiring property and want to ensure that it is protected for your future heirs. 

Wills and trusts are two types of estate planning devices that allow you to look into your future and determine how you can protect your children and your assets if something were to happen to you.

Wills

A will can allow you to plan ahead and maintain control over what you value most in your life if situations out of your control were to arise. Wills are usually prepared for several reasons, including: 

1. You would like to plan ahead to ensure that your children and your property are properly protected in the future;
2. To allow your heirs to avoid the complicated and extended probate process when dividing your estate; and
3. To make any desired stipulations for how you want your property distributed when you pass. 

If you do not have a will prepared, your estate would pass through the probate court process. This is where the court applies the "default" inheritance laws to the decedent’s estate (the estate of the person who has passed away) to determine who inherits your property and potentially your children (if both you and your children’s other parent has died or are unable to care for them). 

Since many people pass away without planning devices such as wills, the court is often backlogged, and probate matters can take months or years to be resolved.

A will can allow your estate to be passed to your heirs in a much smoother transition, overseen by an "executor" you can appoint in your will. The executor facilitates distributing your property and fulfilling your last wishes. 

One additional benefit of obtaining a will is that you can include certain specific requests that probate laws do not contemplate. For example, if you want your home to go to your nephew, but only if and when he finishes college, you can place such a stipulation in your will in some jurisdictions. 

If you want your nephew to inherit your house, but only if he agrees to take care of your dog, you can include a provision stating that as well. Your estate planning attorney in St. Louis can review with you what types of provisions are enforceable, and which are not, in your jurisdiction.

Trusts

Trusts are another tool that can be used to protect your heirs. There are many benefits to preparing trusts, including:

1. Tax advantages for passing your property to your heirs;
2. Ensuring your property is used for the intentions you had in mind when passing the property to the specified person or entity;
3. Ensuring there are funds in place to provide support for your children if you could no longer do so, and protecting the same from future creditors;
4. Setting aside funds for college or other educational expenses for your children in the most beneficial manner possible; and
5. Ensuring your funds are protected and cultivated in the most lucrative manner available.

There are two main types of trusts - revocable and irrevocable. How each type could be implemented to maximize the benefit to your property and wishes is something your St. Louis estate lawyer can review with you as your goals are identified and discussed.

Complex matters such as tax implications, the form of property to include in your trust (liquid assets vs. real property, etc.), and restrictions to place on the trust and payments made from the same, are all topics on which your estate lawyer can counsel you. 

As with wills, you do not need to have a substantial amount of property in order to utilize a trust effectively. If you want to put aside money for your children's college, or to support an elderly parent in the future, and want to protect that money from potential future creditors you may have, a trust is one method you can use to do so.

Wills and trusts are both tools that anyone can use to take some control over how your property is distributed in the future, how your children are protected, or to minimize future conflict of your loved ones. 

While some estate planning matters may seem simple, proper execution of even the most straightforward will or trust is important for enforceability purposes in the future. 

Thus, it's crucial you consult with a St. Louis estate planning attorney to ensure your wills and trusts are properly executed.