Wills & Trusts

The short version

A will says who gets what and who is in charge of making it happen. It only takes effect when you die, and it goes through probate — a court process that is public, takes months, and costs the estate money.

A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime. You still control everything and can change it whenever you like. When you die, whatever the trust holds passes to your beneficiaries without going through probate at all.

The catch is that a trust only helps with assets actually transferred into it. A beautifully drafted trust with an unfunded house in it accomplishes nothing, which is a mistake I see regularly in plans drafted elsewhere.

When a will is genuinely enough

A lot of Connecticut families do not need a trust. If most of what you own passes by beneficiary designation anyway — retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death bank accounts — and your home is jointly owned with a spouse who will survive you, a well-drafted will plus correct titling handles it.

I will tell you when that's your situation. It is a smaller fee for me and the right answer for you, and I would rather you send your neighbour here in three years than pay me for something you didn't need.

When a trust earns its cost

• You own real estate you'd like to keep out of probate. This is the most common reason, particularly for a home that will pass to adult children.
• A beneficiary shouldn't receive money outright. A young adult, someone with an addiction, someone in a difficult marriage, or a person receiving needs-based benefits.
• You own property in more than one state. Otherwise your family faces a separate probate in each one.
• You want privacy. A probated will becomes a public record that anyone can read. A trust does not.
• You want a plan that works if you become incapacitated, not only when you die.

Special needs trusts

If you have a child or family member receiving Medicaid or SSI, leaving them money directly — even a modest amount — can disqualify them from the benefits they depend on. A properly drafted special needs trust lets you provide for them without triggering that.

This is detailed work and the rules are unforgiving about drafting errors. It is also, in my experience, the single most relieving conversation I have with parents, because most arrive believing they simply have to leave that child out.

What it costs

Flat fees, quoted in writing after the free consultation, so you know the number before committing to anything.

• Will-based plan, individual — $900 to $1,400
• Will-based plan, couple — $1,400 to $1,900
• Trust-based plan, individual — $2,200 to $3,200
• Trust-based plan, couple with a home — $2,800 to $4,200
• Special needs trust — quoted after consultation
• Review and amendment of an existing plan — from $450

Every plan includes a durable power of attorney, health care representative appointment, living will, and HIPAA authorizations at no additional cost. Trust plans include the funding work — deed preparation and recording, and help retitling accounts — because a trust nobody funded is the most expensive useless document in estate law.

What happens if you do nothing

Connecticut's intestacy statutes decide for you, in fixed shares that surprise most families. A surviving spouse does not automatically receive everything when there are children or surviving parents. The probate court also appoints whoever administers the estate, which may not be who you'd have picked, and there is no provision at all for guardianship of minor children — that becomes a court decision too.

None of this is meant to frighten you into calling. It's simply what the default is, and most people have never been told what the default actually says.