10 (Ridiculous) Grounds for Getting a Trust

Trusts may sound like something reserved for tech billionaires or eccentric old money families who collect antique spoons. But in reality, getting a trust is one of the smartest financial moves you can make. (And no, it doesn’t require a monocle or a yacht named The Legacy.) 

Serious Business

Here’s why you should get serious about getting a trust. But just to keep things interesting, we’ll use some (fairly ridiculous) hypothetical scenarios. (The scenarios are ridiculous, but the reasons for getting a trust aren’t. Including intestate and probate.)

1. Avoiding Probate

Imagine your Aunt Gertrude leaves behind a will, but before her beloved ferret, Mr. Whiskers, can inherit her fortune, everything gets stuck in probate. That means lawyers, court fees, and months (or even years) of waiting. 

By getting a trust, you ensure your assets bypass the court system, making things quick and easy for your loved ones. Mr. Whiskers would appreciate that.

2. Keeping Things Private

Wills go through probate, which is a public process. That means your nosy neighbor, Carol, can look up exactly what you owned and who inherited what. If you’d rather keep your assets—and your questionable collection of porcelain clown figurines—private, a trust is the way to go.

3. Protecting Your Assets from Creditors

Say your cousin Larry, an aspiring “entrepreneur,” borrows money to start a business selling artisanal air. It flops (who knew?), and creditors come knocking. If your inheritance from Grandpa Joe is safely in a trust, it’s protected. If not, Larry’s creditors might try to grab a piece of it.

4. Keeping Control

Picture this: Your 18-year-old inherits a large sum of money. Within months, they’ve leased a Lamborghini, bought a lifetime supply of energy drinks, and invested in a pyramid scheme involving “NFT hamsters.” A properly funded trust allows you to control distribution of your assets, ensuring your kid doesn’t blow your hard-earned money on nonsense.

5. Reducing Estate Taxes

If your estate is over a certain size, taxes can take a big bite out of what you leave behind. But by getting a trust, you can structure things in a way that minimizes the tax bill. That way, your loved ones (or your pet iguana, Rufus) get more of what you intended.

6. Providing for a Loved One with Special Needs

If you have a family member who relies on government assistance, simply leaving them an inheritance could disqualify them from those benefits. But a special needs trust ensures they get the support they need without losing access to essential programs. (No jokes on this one.)

7. Protecting Against Unexpected Life Events

Let’s say your son, Todd, gets married in Vegas to someone he met three hours earlier over a buffet of crab legs. Without a trust, half of his inheritance could end up with his soon-to-be ex-spouse. A properly funded trust keeps your assets protected from unexpected marriages, divorces, lawsuits, and other life curveballs.

8. Simplifying Your Finances

Without a trust, your heirs could spend months or years trying to track down all your assets. Picture them sifting through old bank statements, trying to figure out where you hid that random savings account from 1997. Getting a trust means everything is in one place, and your beneficiaries don’t have to play financial hide-and-seek.

9. Planning for Incapacity

If you become incapacitated, a funded trust ensures your finances are managed smoothly without requiring court intervention. Your family can focus on helping you recover instead of fighting legal battles over who gets to pay your electric bill. (No jokes here either.)

10. Making Sure Your Legacy Lives On

You spend your whole life building something—whether it’s wealth, a family business, or the world’s greatest collection of novelty coffee mugs. A trust ensures your assets are passed down and used the way you intended, rather than being squandered on a series of bad financial decisions (or worse, a fleet of unnecessary jet skis).

So do future you (and your heirs) a favor. And maybe rethink the porcelain clown collection while you’re at it.