What is a trust and do I need one?

Everyone knows that they need a will, often called a last will and testament. Yes. You do need one. Read our free legal guide to wills in Maryland to find out why.

But what else do you need? Well, you probably need a Durable Power of Attorney. Read more about what that is, and why you might need one, by clicking that link to read our post about it. You may also need an Advanced Medical Directive, which is often mistakenly called a living will. Read more about what that is, and why you might need one, by clicking that link to read our post about it.

As with most legal questions, the answer is “it depends.” But rather than give you a long post without a clear answer, we will try to answer that question for you right here and right now. But if you find yourself with questions, it is always best to call us for a consultation. Only then can you be very sure of which estate planning documents you need.

Good Estate Planning is More than just a Will: Yes, you need a last will & testament. But that only kicks in when you pass away. What if you are disabled?  Proper estate planning requires some other very simple documents. First, you may need to get a Durable Power of Attorney in case you are disabled and need someone else to handle your finances. Second, you should consider getting an Advanced Medical Directive to give someone else the ability and power to make health care decisions for you if you are disabled. Do you need a Living Trust? Click those links to learn more, and visit our Free Legal Guide to Wills & Estate Planning in Maryland to learn everything you need to know about estate planning.

What is a Trust?

A trust is a legal document in which you give all of your assets to a trustee who holds and manages the assets for you and your beneficiaries. That sounds very complicated, but it usually is not.

A Living Trust is probably what you are thinking about when you think of needing a trust. A Living Trust is created while you are still living. You are the trustee for the trust assets. So you make a trust, name yourself trustee, and then put all of your assets into the trust. So you control your assets just like before. Only you do so as the trustee, and not just as an individual.

A Living Trust does add a layer of complexity to your finances, but it comes with a lot of benefits. Those benefits can be invaluable in the right circumstances.

There is another type of trust called a testamentary trust. This is created after you pass away. But you need the complicated trust document signed before you pass on. This is more unusual, so we will focus on Living Trusts in this article.

Benefits of a Trust

The most obvious benefit of a trust is so that you avoid probate. Your assets pass through the trust to your trustees. You do not have to file in probate court, and your heirs are not going to be subject to the court poking its nose in your heir’s business.

Probate can be time consuming, expensive, and a general pain in the neck. Nobody likes the government in their business. A trust can keep the government out of your business.

But, you have to seriously consider whether the costs of establishing a trust outweigh the benefits. See below for more on that.

A Living Trust is also very useful to avoid estate taxes. But, and this is a big “but”, you have to pretty darn wealthy to need one. You only need to avoid estate taxes if you will be subject to estate taxes. In 2026, the federal estate tax exemption is $15 million dollars for individuals, and $30 million dollars for a married couple. Maryland’s estate tax exemption is $5 million for indivuals and $10 million for individuals.

Do you have $5 million? If so, you might need a trust. But if you are like most of the rest of us living in Waldorf, White Plains, or the rest of Charles County, you probably don’t have quite that much. We are a pretty wealthy county – but not that wealthy!

If you are worth $5-10 million dollars, call us and we will refer you to some excellent attorneys. If you aren’t worth that much, then consider if there are some special circumstances that might make a trust right for you. Some of these can be:

• You own a valuable or complicated piece of real estate.
• You own some other complicated or unusual asset.
• You have children with special needs and you want to provide for them when you are gone.
• You have some other unusual or complicated situation.
• You want to exercise a higher degree of control over your assets after you die.

If you call us for a consultation, we will tell you if you need a trust. If so, we will refer you to an excellent law firm to handle it for you.

Downsides of Trusts

Probate in Maryland is not so bad as people think. Probate has a bad reputation. People often spend way too much time worrying about it. It is not very complicated in Maryland, and it is not very expensive. The taxes you pay aren’t even that much.

Other states have much worse probate, and people always seem to know someone who has a horror story from probate court. But those are actually rare. Most of the time, the probate process is easy.

In Charles County Maryland, including Waldorf & White Plains, your probate process will be handled by the Charles County Register of Wills. They are fantastic! They make life easy for people that go to them. There may be other counties in Maryland where probate can be a nightmare (looking at you Prince George’s!) but it is not in Charles County or St. Mary’s County.

And a trust can be expensive. That is the only real downside to doing a Living Trust. You have to do a much more complicated document. And you have to pay for some much higher priced attorneys than we are. And you have to transfer all of your assets from your own name into the name of your trust.

All of this takes time, work, and money. It isn’t cheap.

In the right situation, a trust is a wonderful tool that more than pays for itself. But if you are doing one just to avoid probate, it may not be worth it.

Conclusion – Do I need a trust?

The truth is most of us just need a simple will. You may also need a durable power of attorney. Read more about that by clicking the link. You may also need an Advanced Medical Directive. Read more about that by clicking that link. But you probably don’t need a Living Trust, unless you are worth a lot of money.

Call us for a consultation today so you can get your estate planning documents done. If you need a trust, we will tell you that and refer you to another law firm. We will be honest with you about that. Believe me, we don’t want to get that wrong either!