Wills

     Although it's popularity may have waned a bit with the increased use of revocable trusts, a will still plays a role in modern estate planning.  Every estate plan will likely contain a will.  A 'Simple Will' is one of the two major documents currently used to transfer assets upon death (a revocable trust is the second).  A 'Pour-Over Will' is a simpler type of will that is used in conjunction with a revocable trust. 

Simple Will

     As mentioned above, a 'Simple' Will is the main alternative to a Revocable Trust in planning your estate.  A Simple Will is what is often referred to by the statement 'Last Will and Testament'.  There are advantages and disadvantages to using a simple will rather than a trust.  Some of them include:

Advantages

1.  Court supervision.  If court supervision is desired, a will is superior to a trust.  A will accepted to

          probate is conducted under the direction of a CA Superior Court handling probate matters.

          By contrast, a trust administration normally takes place with a minimal amount of  court oversight.

2.  Cost.  A will is generally less expensive to create than a revocable trust.

3.  Ease of management.  Unlike a trust, there is no need to transfer title of assets or observe   administrative formalities such as maintaining properly titled accounts and keeping careful  records of trust assets.

Disadvantages

1.  Probate.  The biggest disadvantage of the use of a will is that most wills are subject to probate.    The ease of management roles switch upon death.  A trustee acting under a trust  may act  more quickly than an executor acting under a will because the executor's actions are delayed  by court rules and oversight.

2.  Probate Costs.  Executor and attorney fees are statutorily calculated based upon the value of  assets in the estate.  Although I will do a comparitive analysis of costs, avoiding probate  ordinarily saves costs.

3.  Probate Delay.  The probate process generally takes a minimum of 6 months, often closer to a  year to complete.

2.  Less privacy.  Court records filed in a probate case are open to the public.

3.  Cannot help during incapacity.  By comparison, a trust is effective when you sign it.  If you  become incapacitated, a trust has a plan in place: the person you have chosen as your  backup trustee (called a successor trustee), will manage trust assets during your period of  incapacity.  For a married couple, the successor is usually your spouse.  Although a Durable  Power of Attorney, used in conjunction with a will, allows another person to manage your  assets during a period of incapacity, third parties such as banks, car dealers, etc., are  sometimes quicker to accept the authority of a trustee than that of an agent acting under the  power of a DPOA.

Pour-Over Will

     A 'pour-over' will is almost always used along with a revocable trust.  It's purpose is to 'catch' any assets that have not been placed into your trust.  A pour-over will takes these assets and 'pours' them into your trust upon your death.  As is the case with a simple will, if the total amount of assets being 'caught' do not exceed a certain amount (currently $150,000), the pourover will may still avoid probate.