How Has COVID-19 Changed Estate Planning in Las Vegas | Wills and Trusts
We’ve been dealing with the effects of COVID-19 for about a year now. Unfortunately, we still don’t know when life will return to “normal.” COVID-19 has made many people think about legal changes to their life, including with estate planning and family law.
Residents of the Las Vegas metropolitan area are especially hard-hit. Headlines have recently identified Las Vegas as the hardest-hit metro economy in the country.
Financial hardships aside, families are also suffering from the unexpected loss or illness of friends and family. Thus, the trend of more people planning for their futures or the futures of their loved ones is not surprising.
This blog post identifies one of the legal areas that COVID-19 has largely impacted: estate planning.
COVID-19 and Estate Planning
With more people fearing their unexpected ends, more people are worrying about what will happen to their children and other relatives following an untimely death.
It’s good to get your estate planning in order, whether that means drafting or updating a will or trust.
Wills Versus Trusts
If you aren’t familiar with the difference between a Will and trust, then don’t worry. You’re not alone. I’ve encountered a lot of people who are in the same boat, so will give a very brief explanation to differentiate the two.
A Will is a legal document that dictates what happens to your estate after your passing. Your estate consists of everything that you own, ranging from money and financial accounts to personal property and real estate.
Trusts are legal documents that also dictate what happens to all of your belongings after your demise. However, trust documents can also dictate what happens to your estate during your life.
The key difference is that you put all of your property into a living trust while you are still alive, so that the trust becomes the owner of the property. Don’t worry, you still retain control and use over all of the property and can opt to terminate the trust at any point if you change your mind.
You don’t need to involve any courts with how your trust is managed, unlike a Will, which may require a court proceeding to distribute your estate.
Benefits of a Trust
Two of the main benefits people prefer with a trust is the ease of transition and preservation of privacy.
By ease of transition, I mean how property is transferred to your beneficiaries (i.e. persons whom you want to receive your property) rather seamlessly compared to with a will. Since you place your property into the name of the trust while you are alive, your property should still be in the trust’s name upon your death.
Thus, whomever you entrust with handling your trust after your death only needs to transfer that property from the trust to the beneficiary that you designated. No court filing or involvement is necessary.
Compare if you only have a Will, where your heirs may have to file in court and potentially spend on hiring an attorney to help them through the probate process if they are uncomfortable navigating the court system solo.
Regarding privacy, court filings become public records. Some people dislike the idea of their wills becoming public records for anyone to see after they pass away. A trust does not require this kind of public filing, but a Will does.
Thus, if you haven’t gotten your estate plan in order yet, now is not too late. Please reach out if you have any particular questions or concerns.