Living trust or a will?

It really depends on the client. A will costs less money now and more money in the future... way more. For most people that's enough of a reason to get a trust. With the trust you pay a little more now but save significant money in the future for your loved ones. A will is public and a trust is private. Most people prefer private but some people don't care. Since probate (which is avoided with a properly funded trust) is more costly the bigger the assets this helps drive wealthier people to the trust. It can become quite dramatic as your assets go up. For example, let's say you have a $500,000 house with a $400,000 mortgage. Let's say you have essentially no other assets for simple math purposes. A trust will cost you $2,500 (approximately) now and your loved ones will pay little, or nothing, after death. A will, on the other hand might only cost $1,000 now but the probate after death will cost over $15,000 (just attorney fees and Court costs). A $1,000,000 probate is over $25,000 in attorney fees and court costs. The wealthier a person is the more the trust makes sense. However, in my opinion, even at a modest $200,000 level the trust makes significant sense since a probate would cost almost $9,000 between attorney fees and court costs. Plus, probate is a long process that most people would prefer avoiding for their loved ones. I hope this helps. -John