More details to this question:
I have two minor children, 2 rental properties, retirement accounts, life insurance, and stocks. If I have a will if my wife and I die at the same time, can the assets be put into a trust for my children? Or do I need to have my assets in a living trust now in order for my children to receive monthly allocations? If I opt to have only a legal last will and testament, how long will it take in probate court, and what are the costs?
1 ANSWER
Mr. Schill,
You can accomplish your goals through either a Will or Living Trust, as long as the document is properly drafted. The advantages of the Living Trust is that it can avoid probate, so long as you have titled assets into it prior to your death. In most cases you can structure retirement accounts and life insurance so that it passes outside of probate by designating a trust created under your Will (or living trust) for your minor children as the beneficiary. As a general rule, the cost of probate is 1-3% of your probate estate at death in SC. You should also know that SC tends to have one of the longest periods for allowing creditor claims to be filed in the United States (roughly 8 months) so probate in SC ususally runs at least 9-12 months. Whether you will want a will or living trust really depends on the cost of each in setting them up. Our law firm offers a free consultation to help review your situation, after which time we can usually provide a flat fee quote.
Yours,
Daniel K Hicks
Ingersoll & Hicks, PLLC
330 E. Coffee St.
Greenville, SC 29607
864-527-5924
Answered on Dec 26th, 2013 at 9:41 PM