What is… Trusts & Estates?

First up on What is... Wednesday: Trusts and Estates!

Trusts and estates refers to the legal practice area. It includes estate planning (which often includes trusts), trust administration, and estate/probate administration. That certainly is a lot, so let's break it down more!

Estate planning: While many think of this as just Wills, there's a lot more to it. First, consider lifetime planning, from incapacity documents (Powers of Attorney and Health Care Proxies are the primary ones) to lifetime trusts, titling, and determining who to name as guardian and conservator of any minor children. For young adults, this is often the focus. Lifetime planning also includes some more complex situations, such as special/supplemental needs trusts (for those with disabilities) and certain international considerations. For planning as to your death, there are the Last Will and Testament and trusts. We also look at how assets are titled to pass outside of probate. It's important to consider the legal, tax, emotional, and practical implications of all of this to ensure efficient planning matching your goals given your specific circumstances. Proactive planning done right can help you and your loved ones by decreasing burdens while ensuring your wishes are followed.

Trust administration: Quite simply put, this is the carrying out of the trust agreement. Trustees are in charge, but often they require legal and tax advice. There are so many types of trusts that every administration is different.

Estate/probate administration: These terms are often used interchangeably, though in certain contexts they mean different things. (Don't worry, I walk clients through all of this!) Probate is the court process through which assets pass through your estate to your heirs and devisees (those benefiting from your estate).

In later posts, I'll delve into more detail for some of these, but feel free to ask questions in the meantime!