• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • About Our Firm
    • Career Opportunities
    • Meet Our Team
    • News and Events
    • Seniors Rock Radio
  • Estate Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Planning
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Family Farm Succession Planning
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • IRA Planning
      • Planning With An IRA
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning Services
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Young Families
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Elder Law Reports
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • Definitions
    • FREE Estate Planning Worksheet
    • FREE Webinars
    • Estate Administration Legal Guide
    • Estate Planning Articles
      • Questions for Your Estate Planning Attorney Before Creating Your First Estate Plan
      • How to Create Your First Estate Plan in 2022
      • How to Choose a Guardian for Your Child
      • Address These Three Questions in Your First Estate Plan
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Adult Guardianship
      • Alzheimer’s Care
      • Custodial Accounts for Minors
      • Estate Planning
      • FAQs for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Elder Law
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Legacy Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicare and Social Security
      • Probate
      • Probate Avoidance
      • Irrevocable Trusts
      • Trust Administration
      • Trusts
      • Veterans’ Benefits
      • Wills
    • Newsletters
    • Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning for Niches
      • Trust Administration
    • Top Estate Planning Techniques
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Medicaid Planning
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Medicaid Frequently Asked Questions
    • Medicaid Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.

Estate Planning Services in Rochester, New York and the Finger Lakes Area

Connect With Us Today

(585) 374-5210
Law Pay Button
Attend a Free Webinar
Home » Estate Planning » Is a Will Needed If You Have a Living Trust?

Is a Will Needed If You Have a Living Trust?

December 17, 2020Estate Planning

living trustDo you need a will if you have a living trust? We will provide the answer in this post, but we will explain some of the benefits that living trusts provide before we address that question.

Streamlined Estate Administration

When you have a living trust, you facilitate a straightforward and efficient administration process. You would act as the trustee while you are living, so you would have total access to the assets in the trust.

In the trust declaration, you would name a successor trustee to administer the trust after your passing. This can be someone you know personally that would have the appropriate longevity expectation, and you can alternately use a professional fiduciary.

The idea is to convey the assets that will comprise your estate into the trust, and this consolidation will be advantageous during the administration process. Plus, the inheritances would be distributed outside of the costly, time-consuming, and public process of probate.

Flexibility and Distribution Control

This type of trust is revocable, so you could rescind the trust at any time and take back direct personal possession of the property. As we have stated, you would be the trustee, so your control would be absolute every step of the way.

After the trust has been created and funded, you can convey additional property into it at any time. You can change the trustee and/or beneficiary designations, and you can alter the terms as you see fit.

When you have a living trust, you do not have to allow for lump-sum distributions to the beneficiaries after you are gone. You can instruct the trustee to distribute a certain amount each month until the beneficiaries reach certain age thresholds, or you can dictate a different type of arrangement.

Pour-Over Will

You may acquire property along the way that you never conveyed into the trust for one reason or another. To account for this possibility, you should have a pour-over will to accompany the trust in your broader estate plan.

This type of will would facilitate the transfer of this property into the trust during the estate administration phase. The transfer would be subject to probate, but it would be a relatively simple and efficient process.

Guardian Designation

Another reason to have a will when you have a living trust is to account for guardianship of a minor or dependent adult. You cannot designate a guardian in a living trust, so you would include a will to name a guardian if you have a dependent or multiple dependents.

Living Will

Another type of will that should be part of every estate plan is a living will. This document is used to record your preferences with regard to the use of life support measures like cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical respiration, and artificial hydration and nutrition.

The living will can also address comfort care medication preferences and organ and tissue donation choices.

Learn More About Estate Planning

We always share fresh information on this blog, and there are other written materials that you can access on this website. One of them is our carefully prepared estate planning worksheet, and you can learn a lot if you take the time to go through it.

This is a free resource that gets high marks from people that have used it, and you can visit our worksheet page to get your copy.

Need Help Now?

At some point, you will learn enough to know that it is time to put an estate plan in place. If that time is now, we are here to help.

You can schedule a consultation appointment if you give us a call at 585-574-5210, and there is a contact form on this site you can use if you would prefer to send us a message.

 

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
Clients notice Michael Robinson’s unique approach to his estate planning practice the minute they walk through his office doors.
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • How Estate Planning for a Family May Trap the Unwary Practitioner - August 31, 2022
  • State Income Taxation of Social Security Benefits - August 24, 2022
  • Understanding Tax Apportionment Clauses - August 17, 2022

Other Articles You May Find Useful

How Estate Planning For A Family May Trap The Unwary Practitioner 150x150
How Estate Planning for a Family May Trap the Unwary Practitioner
State Income Taxation Of Social Security Benefits 150x150
State Income Taxation of Social Security Benefits
Understanding Tax Apportionment Clauses 150x150
Understanding Tax Apportionment Clauses
estate planning
Estate Planning in Five Easy Steps
How Do I Trust Thee…Part III 150x150
How Do I Trust Thee…Part III
How Do I Trust Thee…Part III 150x150
How Do I Trust Thee…Part I

Primary Sidebar

Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.

Blog Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube

TESTIMONIALS

News & Events

Seniors Rock Radio Show Recording 5-1-21

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U7UkQbEGy-xY7XFAXvX9Qz7pKSVDVV3D/view?usp=drive_web   Author Recent Posts Michael Robinson, Estate Planning AttorneyClients notice Michael Robinson’s unique approach to his estate planning practice the minute they walk through his office doors. Latest posts by Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney (see all) How Estate Planning for a Family May Trap the Unwary Practitioner -... Read more →

Pittsford Office

1163 Pittsford-Victor Road, Suite 120 (Powder Mill Office Park)
Pittsford, NY 14534-3817
Phone: (585) 374-5210
Fax: (585) 485-0394

See Larger Map Get Directions

Map

mrobinson_sidbr_map

Footer

  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
robinson law logo

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.

Attorney Advertisement


© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.