Wills serve the purpose of instructing your Executor, the person who will administer your estate, how you wish to have your assets disposed of after your death. Most wills are “formal”, meaning they are in printed form and are signed by you in the presence of at least two witnesses who then attest to your making of the will.

A Will may simply tell your Executor to distribute property you forgot to put into your trust to your trustee. Wills may also do complex things like establish a trust under the terms of the will, such as a trust for minors, disabled persons, or charity.

Pros: Wills require less work to prepare so their cost is much less than a trust.

Cons: Wills do not come into effect until your death, so they are useless in providing a means of managing your assets during your lifetime. That is important if you lose your capacity to manage your affairs.

Wills do not avoid probate, which is important unless your estate is very small. The probate process is very expensive and does not shield your personal and financial information: the public has access through the court file to specific information about your family and your finances.

Trusts also make post-death instructions and appoint someone to carry them out. However, most trusts come into effect immediately, which offers added advantages for lifetime use.

Pros: Trusts are effective as soon as they are made and funded, so they immediately provide for lifetime management of your estate as well as controlling the disposition of your estate after death.

The assets you have put into your trust (called the “trust estate”) will not be subject to the probate process.

The appointment and removal of trustees can be accomplished easily.

If you lose your capacity during your lifetime, your trust will continue to manage your finances without the need for a very costly conservatorship. A familiar advantage of trusts is that they avoid the cost and delay of a probate after your death.

Your trust is a private arrangement, so your personal information is not lodged in a place where the public has unrestricted access, unless it becomes necessary to go to the probate court to resolve a trust issue.

Cons: Trusts are more expensive than wills to set up. However, you and your survivors can save $1000s of dollars; having your trust minimizes the cost of a conservatorship, if needed, and it eliminates the high cost of probate.