Estate Will and Living Will Services in Utah

What is an estate will?

An estate will can be a powerful tool for simple estates and is a document for simple estates with total values (including home equity, life insurance, retirement savings, etc) of less than $50,000. Wills are subject to the probate process, but simple estates are easy to run through probate.

Estate wills can accomplish the following goals:

• They can establish and provide a framework for the guardianship of minor children;
• They can control simple distribution (including simple trust-type distribution) of money and property;
• They can express love and deeply held desires for family that are not meant to be enforced.

As far as estate planning and distribution go, an estate will can accomplish nearly as much as a trust, but by the time you have a will drafted to do what a trust would normally do, you might as well have drafted a trust. This is why wills are preferred only for small, simple estates.

What is a living will?

Many people confuse a living will with an estate will. A living will is a medical document, which instructs doctors when to cease life support in certain situations An estate planning will is a document that provides for distribution to heirs through the probate system. A revocable living trust distributes assets while avoiding the probate system. In our opinion, all three documents - a living will, an estate planning will (as a back-up document) and a revocable living trust - are necessary to a properly designed estate planning process.

If you think you might need an estate will, a living will or if you just aren't sure, contact us today.