Do I Need a Trust?

Few people need a trust created during their lifetime, but a lot of people want one. I think those companies that used to book the Holiday Inn and buy people dinner in order to sell them trusts had something to do with it. (I was contacted by one of those companies asking if I’d prepare fill-in-the-blank trusts for them so I know they’re still around).

In my humble opinion, if you can’t state the reason for wanting to set up a trust in a sentence, you have to question why you want one. Here are some examples I came up with off the top of my head:

Do I Need a Will?

You’ll think I’m crazy but you already have one. It may not be one you want. Don’t believe me? Click here to go the Michigan legislature’s website to read it. Alright, it’s not technically a “Will” but it tells you what will happen if you don’t decide for yourself—in writing.

You can probably guess the rules: it’s all in probate court, some (not a whole lot of) money and property may be set aside if you have a spouse and children (more if you have minor children), and the rest is available to creditors if you have any.