Do I Need a Trust?
Maybe — depending on what you are trying to protect. A trust can help you avoid probate, plan for incapacity, and pass assets privately, but the right kind of trust depends on your family, your assets, and what you want to happen.
What you should know
- A will is the document that goes through probate. A trust, properly funded, can keep most assets out of probate entirely.
- A revocable trust keeps you in control during your lifetime and can be changed or undone — and you still own everything in it. It does not protect assets from creditors or nursing home spend-down.
- An irrevocable trust may protect assets from creditors, Medicaid spend-down, or estate taxes — but only if you are willing to give up direct control of those assets.
- A trust does no work unless your assets are actually titled in its name. Unfunded trusts can leave your family in probate anyway.
- Alabama follows the Uniform Trust Code, which allows careful flexibility in how trusts are drafted and modified over time.
What it looks like for one family
The same estate, with a will alone or with a funded trust, reaches the family two very different ways.
With only a will
The family goes to court
Bob and Peggy Caldwell have simple wills. When Bob dies, his will must be probated — months of court, public records, and frozen assets before Peggy and the children receive anything.
With a funded trust
The family skips court
With the home and accounts titled into a funded revocable trust, everything passes to Peggy and the children privately, in weeks — and Bob and Peggy kept full control of it all while they were alive.
Bob, Peggy, and the Caldwell family are a composite example used to show how the choice plays out — not a real client.
Do you actually need a trust? Find out in 30 seconds.
Five short choices. Brent reads your answer back to you at the end.
A 30-second guided quiz. Get a personal read on whether a trust fits.
“Brent was very clear about the options I had and carefully explained them clearly. This allowed me to make choices I was comfortable with, rather than putting me on a path he chose.”
— M.H.
This testimonial reflects one client’s personal experience. It does not guarantee or predict the same or similar results for any other person.