What's a Will? What's a Trust?

In Missouri, a Will directs where your property goes.  In other words, when you die, any assets that are in your name are subject to the terms of your Will (although there are various types of possible transfer designations that can create exceptions). This includes real estate, bank accounts, cars, investments, LLC interests, personal property and essentially any other type of asset. In order for those assets to be transferred to the intended recipients by your Will, a “probate estate” has to be opened with the Court.  Your Will would typically also designate who you want to be in charge of the probate process (i.e. the “Personal Representative”). 

A Trust provides a very effective (and generally superior) alternative to simply having a Will.  When you have a Trust, you would typically transfer your assets into that Trust during your lifetime or have particular beneficiary designations set up to transfer assets into the Trust upon your death.  When you die, any assets in your Trust would not need to go through probate - generally making the process simpler, cheaper, smoother and less public. Probate avoidance is often a key reason to have a Trust in place. Additionally, a Trust allows you to be much more directive and particular in the way that your assets get distributed (distributed over time, used for a particular purpose, given at a certain age, etc.)

So, is a Trust or a Will better in Missouri? In most cases, a Trust-based estate plan is preferable and superior to a Will-based estate plan. Of course every situation and every individual or family is different, but a Trust can be a very valuable tool in streamlining, improving and simplifying what happens to your assets when you die.