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What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is the process of making legal and financial plans for what will happen to your property, money, and personal affairs if you become unable to make decisions for yourself or after you pass away.

It involves creating documents, like a will, trust, power of attorney, and healthcare directives that explain your wishes clearly. The goal is to protect your assets, reduce stress for your loved ones, and make sure everything you’ve worked for is handled the way you want.

It’s a legal document that holds your assets (like your home, bank accounts, or investments) and lets you decide how those assets will be managed and shared with your beneficiaries.

What Is a Trust?

A trust is one of the key tools used in estate planning. It is a legal agreement that lets a person (called the grantor) transfer their money, property, or other assets to someone else (called the trustee) to manage for the benefit of another person or group (called the beneficiaries).

The trust explains exactly how the assets should be handled, when they should be given out, and who should receive them. It gives the grantor more control and flexibility over what happens to their property during their lifetime and after they pass away.

If someone doesn’t have a trust, their money and property usually have to go through probate. Probate is a court process that decides how to pay debts and distribute what’s left of a person’s estate. It can take a long time, cost a lot of money, and become part of the public record—meaning anyone can see the details.

Having a trust helps avoid probate, keeps your family’s affairs private, and allows your loved ones to receive what you want them to have faster and with fewer legal issues.

It’s important to understand that having only a power of attorney is not the same as having a trust. A power of attorney lets someone you choose make financial or medical decisions while you’re still alive, especially if you can’t do it yourself. But it ends when you pass away—so it doesn’t control what happens to your assets after death.

A trust, on the other hand, continues to manage and distribute your property after you’re gone, according to your wishes. That’s why many people use both: a power of attorney for decision-making during life, and a trust for managing their legacy afterward.

What Is Probate?

Probate is the legal process that happens after someone dies to settle their estate. During probate, the court reviews the person’s will (if there is one), pays any debts or taxes, and distributes what’s left to the rightful heirs.

People often try to avoid probate because it can:

• Take months or even years to complete

• Be expensive, with court fees and attorney costs

• Make personal and financial information public record

• Cause delays in getting assets to loved ones

By setting up tools like a living trust, people can keep their estate private, reduce costs, and ensure a faster, smoother transfer of their assets to family or beneficiaries—without the stress and expense of going through court.

In Simple Terms:

• Estate planning is the overall plan for managing and protecting everything you own.

• A trust is one part of that plan, a tool that helps you organize, protect, and transfer your assets smoothly, often without going through probate court.

Together, estate planning and trusts give you control, privacy, and peace of mind knowing your family and finances are cared for according to your wishes.

Who Needs an Estate Plan?

• Homeowners

• Business owners

• Investment property owners and/or owners of valuable assets

• Parents of minor children or special needs dependents

• Anyone in a second marriage who wants to protect assets and/or children of a first marriage

• Those who have specific wishes for beneficiaries