why marital trust?

These days, most people use trusts to avoid probate, as if all your assets are in the trust, you don't have to go through probate. in your situation, the value of a marital trust (versus a revocable living trust) is to avoid estate taxes. While you might not have a taxable estate currently, with a $10.5M exemption, if your net worth increased by even 2% this year, that would be $200,000 and you'd be taxed at 40% on this amount, or $80,000. It might cost you $2,000 to $3,000 to create a trust, so that is a good ROI. I also advise clients in your situation to use the annual gift tax exclusion, under which you and your spouse each can give up to $14,000 per year tax free (and without triggering the need to file a gift tax return) to anyone you like (e.g., you could each give $14,000 to each of your kids, or $84,000 out of your estate). You could also make similar gift to your grandkids (or into a trust, such as an education trust, for the grandkids). The bottom line is that as long as your estate remains at or below $10.5 million and the estate tax rules don't change (and you don't have property in any other states), there is not currently a compelling reason to use a marital trust in your planning. I hope this helps.