[USER]

My parents moved to Wyoming a few years ago (not the retire to Florida type!) and while changing legal documentation over the estate attorney told my dad there really is no need for keeping everything in a trust as it had been because they can just designate beneficiaries (me and a sibling) and it will save money and be easier.

Some accounts are joint and my dad mentioned that makes it harder.

There is a mix of investments.

They also own a home in the state – no mortgage. I expect inheritance to be close to or just under a million total, including the home – though it’s in a growing tourist area.

I will research but wanted to draw on the wealth of knowledge here as well.

[John]

Every U.S. state has different probate processes but I’ve never met any honest attorney would not strongly prefer the benefits a trust brings to estate resolution…

[Jule]

You can’t designate a beneficiary to a house. That’s why a trust helps avoiding probate.

[Jennifer]

My Dad passed unexpectedly and he was an Alabama resident but had many accounts in Florida and a House in Alabama.

He had a transfer on death for the house to my brother and then had my brother or I listed as the beneficiary on each account and shared 50/50 on his IRA.

Vehicle titles were paper and he had those pre-filled out.

My brother and I don’t 100 get along but we had no issues and never had to give a penny to anyone (lawyers,
State, or each other) for anything it was super easy and quick to take care of everything.

Only thing that wasn’t easy is an HSA that we all forgot about and my dad forgot to list a beneficiary (so that’s still pending).

I recall my Dad mentioning that he asked a Alabama lawyer about the house deed and with that knowledge and $100 fee to the lawyer that’s how he got around a will/trust/probate and made our lives easier.

Good luck! And Have contingent beneficiaries too. So, it is possible to make it easy.

[Christina]

I actually have a really good estate lawyer we used in Florida when my husbands grandma passed.

They were amazing dealing with the family drama that ensued.

Please lmk if you’d like their info!

[John]

Probate can be a painful & prolonged process (say that 3 times fast). The trust helps to avoid all that.

[Chris]

Trust makes things much more complicated to do anything while everyone is alive.

If it’s just a home and some accounts (which can have beneficiaries), it’s probably less complexity in the long run to just do probate for the house unless you expect your parents to pass away very soon. Just my 2 cents.

We looked into this for my parents and came to the conclusion that the trust was more trouble than it’s with.

Just make sure the will is clear and up to date.

[Joel]

If all or substantially all assets can be given beneficiary designations, then those assets can pass to their recipients outside of Probate.

If there are material assets that cannot be given beneficiary or TOD or POD designations, then whether or not using a Trust is appropriate probably depends on the laws where the estate will be probated and possibly the state where the property physically exists.

For that I’d rely on an estate attorney in their state of residence.

[Katharina]

I’m in Wyoming and the attorney is likely correct. You can set up everything with TOD beneficiaries here. How complicated that is on joint accounts depends on the bank.

You’ll want the surviving parent to still have full access since it’s unlikely that both pass at the same time.

One estate attorney we invite to teach estate planning classes at the community college where I work is John Fritz, who practices in Cheyenne and Casper.

[Jacqueline]

I advise to keep the trust. It makes everything so much more efficient, streamlined, and clean-cut. Plus, it isn’t costly to those who inherit.

If there is very little to inherit, which isn’t your case, then a trust isn’t necessarily worth it.

[Paula]

My dad had everything in a trust and left transfer on death titles signed with the attorney.

Everything was so easy and fast.

It took days. When my mom passed it took years to settle and it’s just me and my brother agreeing on everything.

[Lori]

Probate is a PITA. My parents had a trust which was simple but left one account out that had to be probated.

Had to pay an attorney, court filings, what a mess.

Some accounts came to 4 kids by direct beneficiary and went fine.

[Author]

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