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Is a Trust Right for Your Family, or Is a Will Enough?
A trust is not automatically the right answer for every family. Some people may be well served by a carefully prepared will, financial power of attorney and advance directive. Others may benefit from the additional control, continuity or inheritance-management options a trust can provide.
Dawn helps clients begin with the problem they want to solve. That may involve protecting young children, planning for a blended family, managing assets during incapacity, supporting a beneficiary with additional needs or creating clearer instructions for future distributions.
Mobile trust consultations are available throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C., including Frederick, Damascus, Urbana, Hagerstown, Germantown, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Silver Spring, Olney, Bethesda, Columbia and Ellicott City.
What We Commonly See Leading Families to Consider a Trust
Most people do not begin by asking for a specific trust. They begin with a concern about their family, property or the way an inheritance should be managed.
“How do we keep our children from receiving everything at once?”
Direct answer: A trust may name the person responsible for managing inherited assets and provide instructions for how funds should be used and when distributions should occur.
“We are a blended family. How can we protect a spouse and our children?”
Direct answer: Trust planning may help provide support for a surviving spouse while preserving defined property or future distributions for children from a prior relationship.
“What happens if I become unable to manage my property?”
Direct answer: A properly structured trust may provide continued management for property held in the trust. It should still be coordinated with a financial power of attorney.
“A loved one may need help managing an inheritance.”
Direct answer: A trust may provide staged distributions, ongoing management or instructions based on the beneficiary’s age, needs or circumstances.
Does one of these situations sound familiar?
Dawn can help you determine whether a trust addresses the concern or whether a simpler estate plan may be enough.
What Type of Trust Might Fit Your Planning Goals?
The correct trust depends on its purpose. The goal is not to select the most complicated option. It is to use the structure that appropriately addresses the family’s needs.
Revocable Living Trust
May provide lifetime control, management during incapacity and instructions for distributing property held in the trust.
Irrevocable Trust
Generally involves greater limits on control and may be considered for specialized legal, financial or long-term planning goals.
Special Needs Trust
May provide supplemental support for a beneficiary with a disability while accounting for the beneficiary’s circumstances and applicable benefit rules.
Testamentary Trust
Created through a will and generally begins after death through the estate administration process.
Trust for Children
Provides instructions for managing inherited property while a child is too young or not yet prepared to manage it independently.
Family-Specific Planning
Trust terms may be designed around remarriage, property ownership, business interests or beneficiaries with different needs.
Should You Have a Will, a Trust or Both?
Many estate plans use both because wills and trusts serve different purposes. Having a trust does not automatically eliminate the need for a will.
What Does It Mean to Fund a Trust?
Funding a trust means reviewing assets and taking the appropriate steps to place selected property under the trust’s ownership or otherwise coordinate the property with the estate plan.
Signing the trust does not automatically change the ownership of a home, bank account, investment account or business interest.
Identify what you own
Review real estate, accounts, business interests and other property.
Review current ownership
Determine whether assets are owned individually, jointly or through another arrangement.
Coordinate each asset appropriately
Some assets may be retitled while others may use beneficiary designations or remain outside the trust.
Review new property later
New accounts, homes or business interests may require additional planning.
Common Trust Mistakes That Can Create Confusion Later
Trust problems often arise because the trust was misunderstood, not funded, not updated or not coordinated with the rest of the estate plan.
Assuming every asset is automatically included
Property must be properly held in or coordinated with the trust.
Believing a trust replaces every other document
Wills, powers of attorney and advance directives may still serve important separate purposes.
Naming a trustee without discussing the role
A trustee should understand the responsibility and be willing and able to serve.
Never reviewing the trust again
Marriage, divorce, births, deaths and new property may affect the plan.
Need help reviewing an existing trust?
Dawn can help identify whether the documents and asset arrangements still reflect your current goals.
Frequently Asked Questions About Trusts in Maryland
Do I need a trust if I already have a will?
Not necessarily. A trust may be useful when you want lifetime asset management, more detailed inheritance instructions or another specific planning benefit. The two documents should be evaluated together.
Does a living trust avoid probate in Maryland?
Property properly held in the trust generally passes according to the trust rather than through probate. Signing a trust alone does not automatically transfer every asset into it.
Can I change a revocable living trust?
A revocable trust is generally designed to allow amendment or revocation while the settlor has the required capacity, subject to the trust’s terms and applicable law.
Should my home be placed in a trust?
That depends on ownership, financing, insurance and the purpose of the trust. Real estate should be reviewed individually rather than transferred automatically.
Who should I choose as trustee?
Choose someone who is trustworthy, organized, willing to serve and able to follow the trust terms while communicating with beneficiaries and professionals.
Can a trust hold assets for children until they are older?
Yes. A trust may include instructions for managing assets and making distributions according to age, need, purpose or another standard.
Does a trust replace my financial power of attorney?
Not necessarily. A trustee generally manages property held in the trust. A financial power of attorney may address other legal and financial responsibilities outside the trust.
Can Dawn meet with us at our home?
Mobile estate planning consultations are available throughout many Maryland communities and Washington, D.C., subject to location, availability and the planning involved.
Find Out Whether a Trust Makes Sense for Your Family
You do not need to know which trust you need before contacting the firm. Dawn can review your family, property and goals and explain whether a trust should be part of your estate plan.
Serving Frederick, Damascus, Urbana, Hagerstown, Germantown, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Silver Spring, Olney, Bethesda, Columbia, Ellicott City and surrounding Maryland and Washington, D.C. communities.
Request a Consultation Call (301) 456-0982