Revocable Living Trust vs. Will with Kids Trust

[skinsfan]

My wife and I recently met with an estate lawyer to set up a will and POAs. Based on my readings on this forum, I went in with the assumption that we would establish a revocable living trust and that's what I told the lawyer. During the initial consult with the lawyer his advise was to set up a kid's trust within the will. The will would dictate that the kid's trust is established upon the death of the second parent.

The lawyer also said that the majority of our assets would avoid probate anyways by setting beneficiaries on our accounts. Basically, he said a living trust is unnecessary for our situation and would cost more for him to set up.

Has anyone else set up their will in this way? I mainly just want to make sure the advice from the lawyer isn't completely off-base.

[bsteiner]

I have, as have about 90% of my clients. Except we only name beneficiaries for life insurance and retirement benefits. Revocable trusts make sense in some cases and in some states. Is there some particular reason one would make sense in your case?

[skinsfan]

I have, as have about 90% of my clients. Except we only name beneficiaries for life insurance and retirement benefits. Revocable trusts make sense in some cases and in some states. Is there some particular reason one would make sense in your case?

The only reason is I've seen many people recommending the revocable trust for various reasons (usually avoiding probate and easier process if we are to die). I haven't seen much talk about a kid's trust within the will. Again, just want to make sure that this is an approach that others have taken so your response is appreciated. Thanks.

[J295]

In our state wills of the type you describe are just fine in lieu of a revocable trust.

[Amy2017]

I have, as have about 90% of my clients. Except we only name beneficiaries for life insurance and retirement benefits. Revocable trusts make sense in some cases and in some states. Is there some particular reason one would make sense in your case?

The only reason is I've seen many people recommending the revocable trust for various reasons (usually avoiding probate and easier process if we are to die). I haven't seen much talk about a kid's trust within the will. Again, just want to make sure that this is an approach that others have taken so your response is appreciated. Thanks.

Yes. Will with kids Trust is the approach we have chosen. What your attorney suggested is very similar to what our attorney told us except he did also recommend revocable living trust. His reason is that by having set up a revocable living trust already, if we happen to die when our kids are still minors, the transition could be smoother. In the end, we decide to choose will instead because of the simplicity.

[Iorek]

I think living trusts are a pain and overrated for most estate planning purposes.