Wills and trusts are familiar terms to many people in Nevada. These common estate planning tools are often used first by people when they start to plan for their eventual deaths. However, there are many other options that individuals may wish to consider when working to create a plan that benefits not only themselves, but those that they leave behind.
In Nevada, when people create a will, their estate is subject to probate when they die. The process is a public one where the assets and debts of an individual are discussed. In addition, the estate is distributed as is directed in the will.
This is different than in the case of trusts. These types of estate planning tools are not subject tot probate and can be used both while a person is alive and distributed after their death. Often people seek to use a trust when they have large amounts of assets, young children or the desire to have the trust control ownership of their property while they are still alive, as would be the case with a living trust.
The options for people considering how to distribute their estate after their death are many in Nevada. Because of this fact, some people can find estate planning intimidating or confusing. This leads such people to seek information from experienced advisors whoa re able to review all of the assets and debts of the individual and best advise them how to make use of the available tools to best achieve their goals for the distribution of their estate when they die.
Source: Forbes, Estate Planning For The Rest Of Us, Liz Davidson, Sept.12, 2013