Any estate plan should include a foundational document that expresses your wishes for passing assets to your beneficiaries. This document typically takes the form of either a Will or a Revocable Trust. Your attorney can help determine which option best suits your estate planning needs, but the following information provides background for that conversation.

Key Terms

• Grantor(s): The person (or married couple) who creates the Revocable Trust.
• Testator: The person who creates a Will.
• Trustee: The person or company named by the Grantor(s) to legally hold title to property owned by the Revocable Trust. The Trustee manages trust assets and makes distributions to beneficiaries.
• Beneficiary: The person or people entitled to benefit from trust assets, either now or in the future.
• Probate: Probate is a legal process that requires court involvement. If your estate plan uses a Will as its foundational document, probate is required after your death to authorize someone (your executor or personal representative) to pay bills, file taxes, gather and value assets, and transfer them to the appropriate beneficiaries.

Why Is This Decision Important?

Choosing between a Will and a Revocable Trust affects:

• Fiduciary choices
• The types of documents your attorney prepares
• The amount of work required to implement your estate plan

How Does a Revocable Trust Work?

A Revocable Trust acts as a Will substitute and contains your beneficiaries and distribution instructions.

• It is created during your lifetime.
• While you are alive, you maintain full access to the funds and assets in the trust.
• For tax and reporting purposes, it typically uses the Grantor’s Social Security number and does not require its own EIN or separate income tax return.
• At death or incapacity, the successor Trustee you name can immediately take over management of the trust.
• If you transfer title of your assets into the trust during your lifetime, the Trustee can distribute them to beneficiaries without going through probate.
• A Revocable Trust is usually paired with a Pour-Over Will, which transfers any assets not already placed in the trust into the trust after death through probate.
• You can modify or revoke a Revocable Trust at any time during your lifetime.

How Does a Will Work?

A Will also includes your beneficiaries and instructions for how assets should be distributed.

• It is created during your lifetime but does not take legal effect until death.
• After death, the Personal Representative (sometimes called an Executor) must be appointed by the court through probate before they can manage your estate.
• Unlike a Revocable Trust, assets do not need to be transferred or retitled during your lifetime for a Will to function.

Considerations When Choosing Between a Will and a Revocable Trust

1. Is avoiding probate important to you?
   Many states offer a non-intervention probate process, which allows the Personal Representative to administer the estate without frequent court involvement.
   
   In states with non-intervention probate (such as Washington), probate may not be particularly complex or expensive if all real estate is located within the state.
   
   In states without non-intervention probate (such as Oregon), avoiding probate may be more important, particularly if the Personal Representative may charge a statutory fee for their services.
   
   
2. Do you own real estate in multiple states?
   Many states require a separate or ancillary probate process for property owned by non-residents. This can increase costs and cause delays.
   
   If you own only one out-of-state property, a single-purpose revocable trust could be used to hold that property and avoid probate.
   
   If you own multiple properties in different states, a Revocable Trust may provide greater benefits.
   
   
3. Are you planning to move to another state?
   Some people anticipate relocating in the future. If you already know where you may move, ask your attorney whether a Revocable Trust would work better under the laws of that state. If so, establishing one now may help maintain continuity in your estate plan.
   
   
4. Is privacy important to you?
   A Will must be filed with the court during probate, meaning it becomes part of the public court record.
   
   In many states (including Washington), probate filings do not require listing the full inventory and value of estate assets. However, the instructions for distributing assets may still become publicly accessible.
   
   A Revocable Trust can offer more privacy. The trust can also be named something other than your personal name, which may help maintain some privacy in property and public records.