Ask ten estate planning attorneys whether you need a trust, and eight of them will tell you yes. That’s not necessarily because a trust is the right answer for everyone — it’s partly because trusts are a bigger-revenue service than simpler tools, and partly because the culture of the estate planning industry has trended toward recommending trusts as the default solution.
After many years of practice, I’ve come to believe that the honest answer is more nuanced. Trusts are powerful tools when they fit the situation. They’re overkill — and occasionally counterproductive — when they don’t. Here’s a grown-up conversation about when a trust makes sense and when it doesn’t.
What a Revocable Living Trust Actually Does
Before weighing the decision, let’s be clear about what we’re weighing. A revocable living trust is a legal entity you create during your lifetime to hold your assets. You control it completely — you can add or remove assets, change beneficiaries, or dissolve the trust entirely at any time. At your death or incapacity, a named successor takes over management, typically distributing assets to your heirs without court involvement.
A trust is not a tax shelter during your lifetime. It does not protect assets from creditors during your lifetime. It does not provide any lifetime benefit you don’t already have with a will. What it does is seamlessly handle the transition at death or incapacity.
The Case For
Probate avoidance. This is the big one. Assets in the trust pass to beneficiaries without probate court involvement. In states with long or expensive probate (Michigan averages 9-12 months, California is notoriously slow and expensive, New York is complex), this is meaningful. In states with streamlined probate (Texas, for example), the benefit is smaller.
Privacy. Wills become public records when filed for probate. Trusts do not. If your family has any reason to want privacy — public-facing family members, difficult family dynamics, business interests — the trust protects it.
Incapacity planning. If you become unable to manage your own affairs, your successor trustee can take over immediately without needing a court-appointed conservator. This is often the biggest practical benefit during your lifetime.
Complex distribution schemes. If you want to distribute assets in staggered payments (say, at ages 25, 30, and 35), protect a beneficiary with special needs, or set conditions on distributions, a trust handles this gracefully. A will can’t.
Out-of-state property. If you own property in multiple states, probate occurs separately in each state where you own real estate. A trust eliminates this multi-state probate problem.
The Case Against
Cost. A trust-based estate plan in Michigan typically runs $2,500-$4,500. A will-based plan is usually $400-$1,000. That’s a meaningful gap, and for many families, the gap exceeds the probate savings the trust would provide.
Funding burden. Creating the trust is only step one. You also have to retitle assets into the trust — deeds, bank accounts, investment accounts, business interests. Any asset left out of the trust still goes through probate. Many people sign trust documents and then never finish the funding, which means their estate still ends up in probate.
Complexity. A trust creates administrative complexity during your lifetime. You have to remember to title new assets correctly. You have to understand when to sign as trustee versus individually. You have to keep the trust updated as circumstances change.
Overselling. I’ve seen clients walk into my office with trust documents from previous attorneys that cost $4,000 and accomplish nothing they couldn’t have achieved with a $700 will-and-beneficiary-designation combination. The fit matters.
When a Will is Usually Enough
For a single person with no children, a modest home, and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, a well-drafted will plus beneficiary designations often covers 90% of what a trust would provide. The retirement accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries (no probate). The bank accounts can use transfer-on-death designations (no probate). The home can use an enhanced life estate deed in Michigan (no probate). Everything else goes through a simple will.
The result: probate avoidance without the trust’s cost and complexity. Not right for everyone, but right for many.
When a Trust is Usually Right
For married couples with minor children, blended families, beneficiaries with special needs, substantial assets, multi-state property, or any desire for staggered distributions, a trust is generally worth the cost. The complexity of these situations is exactly what trusts are designed to handle, and the cost difference becomes trivial relative to what’s at stake.
The Honest Framework
The question isn’t “should everyone have a trust?” The question is “does the added value of a trust exceed the added cost and complexity for my specific situation?” For some families, the answer is clearly yes. For others, just as clearly no. For many, the answer is yes-but-a-simpler-solution-also-works.
Any good estate planning attorney should walk you through this analysis without bias. If the attorney you’re talking to hasn’t asked about your specific family situation before recommending a trust, they’re not giving you advice — they’re selling you a product.
Understanding the full pros and cons of a trust requires a real conversation about your family, your assets, and your goals. Walk in prepared to discuss all of it, and you’ll come out with a plan that actually fits.
The Takeaway
Trusts are great tools. They’re not magic. They don’t solve every problem, and they create a few problems of their own. A good attorney will tell you when they fit and when they don’t. A great attorney will help you decide without financial bias.
Go into the conversation informed, ask hard questions, and don’t be afraid to walk away if the pitch doesn’t match your circumstances. Your family deserves the right plan — not just the most expensive one.
