What is the difference between a Trust and a Will?

Question

amber · Accepted Answer

In short, a Trust allows you to specify how things should be used, whereas a Will allows you to hand over total control.

For example, let’s say you give your brother $1,000 for your nieces college fund:

If you do this with a Trust and your brother is the Trustee, it’s his job to transfer those funds to your niece at the time and in the manner specified in your Trust.
If you do this with a Will, then if the money goes to your brother (for your niece) there is no way to make sure it gets to her at all. If you say it goes directly to your niece, she could use it to buy a new tv instead of for college. It gives total control to the person you name to receive it.

This is something we go through during the design process to help you decide which type of document to use in different situations.