By Jeff Wagoner, W M Law President

Many times, I have clients show up for an initial consultation with the mindset that “I need a trust.”  They are absolutely dead-set that they must have a trust of some sort.  When I ask why they believe they need a trust, sometimes I get a very well-thought-out response and the client is correct – they DO need a trust.

However, more often than not, the client believes he or she needs a trust because somebody else has told them that they need a trust.  Upon digging further, it is generally because either that other person has a trust or because someone in that other person’s family passed away and had a trust.  Now, trusts are wonderful things – they can be used to do many things that a simple will cannot.  And they are great for avoid probate.  But I rarely recommend them.

Why don’t I recommend them often?  Well, first off, I believe in the KISS principle – simple over complex any day in my book.  I like to figure out what the simplest method is to accomplish a given goal, and oftentimes that means we can use a simple will along with some […]