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Jasper L. Edwards
One of the main considerations that people must be considering when evaluating the merits and
demerits of trusts vs. wills would know which of the two options would cost the
least.
With a bit of research, you will soon learn that an attorney will generally charge you between four
and five hundred dollars in drawing up your will while the same attorney may charge you between two
thousand and two and a half thousand dollars for making the trust.
A Simple Answer?
Thus, the first impression in the debate concerning choosing between trusts vs. wills will have
been formed simply and without much effort either. However, with a little bit more care you will
soon come to realize that the fees charged pertain only to the setting-up costs and not the actual
costs of administering the wishes mentioned in either the trusts or wills
after you have passed away.
Thus, before deciding one way or the other with regard to trusts or wills, you also need to take
into consideration the costs of carrying out your wishes since it would be wrong to assume that the
costs related to trusts or wills means only the cost of drafting either document. The trouble
begins when the estate must pass through the probate process and
so, you need to consider fees that could amount to as much as ten thousand dollars that in turn
means needing to add this to the cost of either trusts or wills costs.
Thus, once you have factored in the costs of executing the will, you will find that wills are in
fact, very expensive and thus you may actually be better off settling for the trust, which despite
carrying higher initial drafting costs, will work out to be cheaper in the long run.
The fact is that if you choose a trust, you won’t need to be worried about going through probate
and thus using a trust will help you eliminate as much as ten thousand dollars in costs of probate.
Thus, any successor trustee would get the immediate right to distribute the property according to
the trust and that there is no need for anyone to go to court or hire a lawyer to execute the
estate satisfactorily.
Another advantage to opting for a trust is that in case of wills, it
is the legal document that is most often contested and by factoring in the high costs of
executing the will, it will in fact be surprising to learn that the trust works out to be not only
cheaper in the long term, but also less contentious and thus you would get value for your time as
well as money by opting for a trust - especially a revocable living trust.
RESOURCE BOX
Free Wills to Print
provides detailed information on Free Wills, How to Write a Will, Last Will And Testament, Living
Wills and more.
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