Michigan Living Will vs. Trust: Which is Right for You?

Estate Planning is undoubtedly the best way to secure one’s future and make sure their wishes are honored after their inevitable passing. When it comes to Michigan, Living Will and Trust are two fundamental aspects of estate planning that most people opt for.

Here at the law offices of Sean Patrick Cox, we’ve seen many folks struggle to decide between establishing a trust or a Living Will. To make this decision-making process easier, we’d like to use this article to highlight the differences between both of these crucial estate planning elements.

So, without much further ado, let’s delve into the difference between a Living Will and a trust to determine which option is best for you.

Understanding a Living Will and Trust

Before we dive deep into the difference between these two options, it is imperative to understand what they entail. As such, let’s get a basic understanding of what a Living Will or Trust is.

1. Living Will

Also known as an advanced healthcare directive, a Living Will dictate what your preferences will be concerning medical treatments in the event you aren’t able to communicate your wishes. A Living Will often address issues related to organ donation, or other life-sustaining treatments. It can also be used to assign a healthcare proxy who’ll be making these important decisions on your behalf.

2. Trust

A trust can be defined as an entity that manages assets on behalf of beneficiaries. A trust involves a grantor – who creates a trust, a trustee – who manages the trust, and the beneficiary – who benefits from the trust. A Trust can either be revocable or irrevocable. It can also come into effect during your lifetime or after you’ve passed away.

For more clarity on these topics, we suggest giving the seasoned will and trust attorneys at the offices of Sean Patrick Cox a call.

Comparing a Michigan Living Will and Trust

Now that you know what a Living Will and Trust entail, let’s explore the factors that you could consider to determine which of the above options is best suited for you, given your current circumstances.

1. The Purpose

As we mentioned before, a Living Will is conceived to help medical professionals and loved ones make decisions related to life-sustaining treatments in the event you can’t. It will ensure that your wish about the kind of treatment or medication you receive is honored while you are incapacitated.

On the other hand, trust has a far bigger role to play. It can not only help with the distribution of assets but also determine how it is supposed to be managed while you are still alive or incapacitated. A trust can hold special instructions for charitable contributions, care of dependents, and asset distribution.

As an experienced attorney for Wills and Trusts will tell you, these two serve completely different purposes. If you wish to secure your assets or ensure their fair distribution after your passing, then you should consider establishing a trust. A Living Will, on the other hand, ensures your healthcare wishes are honored upon your incapacitation.

2. Avoiding Probate

Probate can be defined as a process that is undertaken to validate a will in a bid to distribute assets upon one’s passing. It is a lengthy and demanding process that most folks would like to avoid.

A significant appeal of Trust is its ability to completely bypass the probate process. Any asset being held in a trust can be distributed to the intended beneficiaries directly, thus hastening the transfer of assets while also ensuring privacy.

As a Living Will does not have anything to do with asset distribution, it doesn’t play any role in probate. For more tips on how to avoid probate, we suggest you give the seasoned will and trusts plan attorneys at the offices of Sean Patrick Cox a call right away.

3. Matters of Privacy

Living Wills are considered public records. Whatever terms these documents contain will become known to the public during a legal proceeding. A Living Will might not be ideal for people who want to keep their healthcare matters private.

Trusts, on the other hand, ensure a greater level of privacy, especially because they help with probate avoidance. Everything from the details of trust to terms specific to the distribution of assets remains confidential.

4. Flexibility

Trusts are known to offer a higher level of flexibility. An established Trust can adapt to changing financial situations, family circumstances, and grantors’ wishes. A trust can be modified to accommodate changing circumstances. As a Living Will is laser-focused on healthcare decisions, you can’t expect flexibility from it.

5. Planning for Incapacity

A major role of a Living Will is to ensure decision regarding one’s treatment is carried out as per their wishes if they aren’t able to expressly communicate it themselves. A Living Will comes into effect during one’s incapacitation.

A Trust can also come into effect while one is incapacitated. However, you cannot count on trust to specific detailed healthcare instructions once you’ve been incapacitated. For a more comprehensive incapacity planning, most seasoned will and trust attorneys in Michigan recommend combining a Trust with a sound Living Will.

Advantages of Combining Living Will with Trust

Combining Living Will with Trust is considered by many legal professionals as a robust approach to creating a sound estate plan. People who do so stand to gain a lot in terms of both healthcare and financial security.

Here are just a few benefits that you can reap by combining a Living Will and Trust

• Efficient holistic estate planning
• Effective incapacity planning
• Ensured privacy and probate avoidance
• Coordinate financial wishes with healthcare-related ones
• Comprehensive family protection
• Save on costs
• Adapt to changing situations
• Streamline administration of finance and healthcare-related wishes.

In essence, blending a Living Will with a Trust will help you accomplish a far more comprehensive estate plan. This plan will address both the financial and healthcare aspects. This combination assures that your wishes across multiple dimensions of your estate are respected upon your incapacitation or death.

However, we do advise consulting an experienced will and trust attorney to create these documents based specifically on your unique needs.

Conclusion

Both a Living Will and Trust are imperative aspects of estate planning. A trust offers you a comprehensive way to manage and distribute assets for the benefit of your beneficiaries. A Living Will focuses more on making imperative healthcare decisions in the event of your incapacitation. They both serve distinct purposes.

In Michigan, we’ve seen a lot of folks go with a combination of the two to create a more holistic estate plan that addresses their healthcare as well as financial concerns. Whatever option you opt for, you’ll need to ensure that it aligns with Michigan’s legal requirements.

This is where the Michigan Living Will and Trust attorneys at the offices of Sean Patrick Cox come into play. Over the years, we’ve helped a ton of Michigan residents establish a sound estate plan. Perhaps we can do the same for you.

We are the first name that pops up when you Google – ‘best Living Will and Trust attorney near me’. Call now to learn more.