If you have a will, that’s a great start. But here’s something a lot of people don’t realize: a will doesn’t keep your family out of court. It actually sends them there.
When you pass away with just a will, your estate goes through a process called probate. In Maryland, that means a court oversees the distribution of your assets — and your family waits. We’re talking 12 to 18 months on average, sometimes longer. On top of that, probate typically could cost around 5% of your estate’s gross value. For a $900,000 estate, that’s $45,000 gone before your kids see a dime. And it’s all public record — anyone can look up what you had and who got it.
A revocable living trust works differently. You set it up while you’re alive, transfer your assets into it, and name yourself as the trustee. Nothing changes about how you manage your money or property day to day. But when something happens to you, your successor trustee — the person you chose — steps in immediately. No court. No waiting. No fees eating into what you worked hard to build.
It also covers you if you become incapacitated before you die. Without a trust, your family might have to go to court just to manage your finances while you’re still alive. With a trust, your successor trustee can step in quietly and handle things exactly the way you’d want.
One thing I always make sure my clients understand: a trust only protects what’s in it. Creating the document is just step one. You also have to fund it — meaning your accounts, real estate, and other assets need to be retitled in the name of the trust. This is where a lot of plans fall apart when people work with attorneys who don’t have a clear process for following through. In our practice, we don’t hand you a stack of documents and call it a day. We make sure everything is actually set up correctly.
Is a revocable living trust right for everyone? Not always. But for many families with children, property, or any meaningful assets, it’s the move that makes the most sense.