Do I Need a Will or a Trust?

A will is a written document with instructions for disposing of assets after your death. Your will is enforced through probate court.  A revocable living trust is an entity you create that can hold your assets for disposition after your death.  In both documents you will write your instructions for the disposition of your estate, and you will select who is to manage your estate and its disposition.  That person is called an executor under your will, and a trustee under your trust.  Your revocable living trust also provides for incapacity and disability planning.  If you are unable to take care of your assets while you are alive, your successor trustee will manage them during your incapacity.  Unlike a will, your revocable living trust can avoid probate if it is properly funded with your assets.  In California, a trust is generally recommended if you own real property or if you have over $150,000 in assets.
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Christine Ellingsen is a Northern California native now practicing law as an estate planning attorney in Carmel Valley San Diego at the Barger Law Group, APC.  She spent a year in New York working in the business sector before moving to Southern California to attend law school at the University of San Diego.  She is happy to have started her law career in San Diego and to now call Encinitas home, where she keeps busy between exploring Coastal North County and training her new puppy.