Any estate planning attorney or financial advisor can attest that it’s common to hear a client say they know they’ve done some estate planning in the past, but aren’t sure what it actually says. Legal documents are often dense with legalese, and even identifying what type of document you have can be tricky for non-lawyers.
With Wealth.com, our user-friendly workflows and visualization tools help you understand what kind of document you’re creating and what your plan says—and make it easy to come back and update your plan as life changes.
Before you start a new estate plan on Wealth.com, it helps to know what you already have. If you have a Will-based plan, you may want to replace it or explore a Revocable Trust instead. If you have an existing Trust, you may want to restate it.
How do you know if you have a Will-based plan or a Trust-based plan?
1. Check the titles of your documents.
If a previous provider gave you a binder or a stack of documents, look for a cover sheet or table of contents (for example, “The Estate Plan of John and Jane Doe”). These aren’t estate planning documents themselves—they just help you navigate to the real ones. If the table of contents lists one or more Trusts along with Wills, that’s a sign you have a Trust-based plan.
2. Look for “Last Will and Testament” or “Will of [Name].”
This is your Will.
3. Look for “Trust” in the title.
For example, “The Jane Doe Living Trust,” “The Jane Doe Revocable Trust,” or even a name that doesn’t reference you directly, like “The Woodway Street Trust.” Any document with “Trust” in the title is a Trust agreement. (Whether it’s an Individual or Joint Trust is covered separately.)
4. If you have a Trust, you likely also have a Will.
Usually one Will per person, since joint Wills are rare. But the Trust is the document doing the real work of directing how your assets are distributed. The Will typically just “catches” any assets left outside the Trust and directs them into it after your death.
5. Even without a separate Trust document, your Will might create a Trust.
For example, parents who planned while their kids were minors often included a trust for their children. But if that trust only takes effect within the Will at your death—with no separate, signed trust document—you have a Will-based plan.
How do you know if your existing trust is a Joint Revocable Trust or an Individual Revocable Trust?
- Review the title of your Trust, which is usually found at the top of the first page. An Individual Trust usually has one person’s name only (The Jane Doe Revocable Trust), whereas a Joint Trust usually names two people (The John and Jane Doe Revocable Trust).
- Read the first paragraph of your Trust—who is listed as the “grantor,” “settlor,” or “trustor’? An Individual Trust names one person in that role, whereas a Joint Trust names two people.
- Similarly, an Individual Trust usually includes one trustee (typically the same as the grantor/settlor/trustor), whereas a Joint Trust usually has two trustees (both of the grantors/settlors/trustors).
This material is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, tax, or valuation advice. Clients should consult qualified professionals regarding their individual circumstances.
