Cottonwood Heights Wills And Trusts Lawyer | Serving Salt Lake City

Deciding what should happen to your property in the future is only one part of estate planning. You may also need to determine who should manage your affairs if you become incapacitated, who should care for minor children, when beneficiaries should receive an inheritance, and whether certain property should remain under ongoing management after your death.

Wills and trusts provide different ways to address these concerns. A will primarily establishes instructions that take effect after death, while a trust can create a structure for owning and managing property during your lifetime and beyond. Understanding how these tools differ can help you make informed decisions about the structure of your Utah estate plan.

John Park Law assists individuals and families throughout the Salt Lake City area with wills, trusts, and other estate planning matters. Rather than recommending the same documents to every client, our attorneys consider your family, property, beneficiaries, and long-term objectives when developing an estate planning strategy.

Our Utah office is located at 6975 S. Union Park Center, Ste. 600, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84047, near I-215 and 1300 East in the Union Park area. Call (801) 701-3330 or complete our contact form to discuss your estate planning needs.

Recent Review:

“I reached out to Sam at John Park Law for assistance in helping my mother review and modify her trust. Sam was professional, and very patient with my elderly mother – explaining things multiple times when needed to be sure he captured her intent accurately, and that she was comfortable with the process. Couldn’t recommend him more highly.”
— Verified Google Review from Mike W.

Utah Wills and Trusts Attorneys

John Park Law brings decades of combined legal experience to clients throughout Utah. Our estate planning attorneys help individuals and families establish clear instructions for their property, prepare for periods of incapacity, and determine how wealth should ultimately pass to the people and organizations they choose.

Creating an effective plan begins with understanding the client’s circumstances. Someone purchasing a first home may have very different planning needs from a parent with minor children, a business owner preparing for succession, or a family managing significant real estate and investment assets.

Our attorneys help clients evaluate those differences and determine how wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and related documents can work together.

What Is a Will in Utah?

A Last Will and Testament is a legal document that provides instructions for handling certain aspects of your estate after your death. Most importantly, a will allows you to identify who should receive property governed by the document and nominate the individual you want to administer your estate.

Parents can also use a will to nominate someone they would prefer to serve as guardian of their minor children. The ultimate appointment is determined through the applicable legal process, but documenting your preference can provide important guidance.

A Utah will may address matters such as:

Who should inherit property from your probate estate
Who should administer the estate
Your preferred guardian for minor children
Distribution of personal belongings
Coordination with trusts or other estate planning arrangements

Because a will does not take effect until death, it does not provide the same mechanism for lifetime asset management that a living trust can provide.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Utah?

When someone dies without a valid will, Utah’s intestate succession laws distribute property subject to intestacy.

Those laws establish which surviving relatives are entitled to inherit and how the estate should be divided. The result depends on the person’s family circumstances and may not reflect how the individual would have chosen to distribute the property.

A will allows you to establish your own instructions rather than relying exclusively on the state’s default succession rules. It can also document whom you want responsible for administering your estate and whom you would nominate to care for minor children.

Does Having a Will Avoid Probate?

A common misconception is that creating a will eliminates the need for probate. A will does not, by itself, remove assets from the probate process.

Instead, the will provides instructions for administering property that becomes part of the probate estate. Probate may involve establishing authority to administer the estate, identifying property, addressing applicable obligations and claims, and distributing remaining assets to beneficiaries.

Not every asset necessarily passes according to a will. Property held in a properly structured trust, certain jointly owned property, and accounts with beneficiary designations may transfer through other mechanisms.

Understanding which assets are controlled by your will—and which are not—is an important part of creating a coordinated estate plan.

What Is a Trust in Utah?

A trust establishes a legal arrangement for holding and managing property according to written instructions. The trust document identifies who will manage the property, who will benefit from it, and how and when distributions should be made.

Unlike a will, certain trusts can function during your lifetime. A revocable living trust, for example, can allow you to retain control over trust property while establishing instructions for future management.

This can be particularly useful when planning for incapacity. A trust can identify a successor trustee who can assume responsibility for trust assets under the circumstances specified in the trust agreement.

After death, the trust can provide instructions for distributing or continuing to manage remaining trust property for beneficiaries.

Revocable Living Trusts in Utah

A revocable living trust is one of the estate planning tools Utah families may consider when they want to establish a structure for managing property both during life and after death.

As the name suggests, a revocable trust can generally be amended or revoked by its creator while the creator retains the legal capacity and authority to do so.

A living trust may be used to:

Organize ownership and management of certain assets
Establish instructions in the event of incapacity
Designate a successor trustee
Determine how beneficiaries should receive trust property
Maintain property for beneficiaries rather than requiring immediate distributions
Transfer properly funded trust assets outside of probate

The effectiveness of a living trust depends not only on how the document is drafted but also on whether appropriate assets are actually coordinated with the trust.

What Does It Mean to Fund a Trust?

Creating and signing a trust agreement is only part of the planning process. Trust funding refers to taking appropriate steps to place intended assets under the trust’s ownership or otherwise coordinate those assets with the estate plan.

Different types of property may require different planning.

For example, real estate may require changes to the way title is held. Financial accounts may require separate documentation. Other assets may transfer according to beneficiary designations or ownership arrangements rather than through the trust itself.

Failing to properly coordinate property with a trust can undermine the client’s original planning objectives. This is one reason estate planning should include a review of how assets are actually owned rather than focusing solely on the documents being signed.

Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts

Although living trusts receive significant attention in estate planning, not every trust operates in the same way. Two broad categories are revocable trusts and irrevocable trusts.

A revocable trust generally gives its creator considerable flexibility to amend the trust, change beneficiaries, add or remove property, or revoke the arrangement under permitted circumstances.

An irrevocable trust generally involves greater restrictions on the creator’s ability to alter the arrangement or regain control of transferred property. Depending on its structure and purpose, this type of trust may be considered for more specialized wealth-transfer, tax, asset protection, or family planning objectives.

The appropriate type of trust depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Establishing a trust simply because another family has one does not mean it will be appropriate for your circumstances.

Wills vs. Trusts: Which Should You Choose?

Wills and trusts should not necessarily be viewed as competing alternatives. They perform different functions, and many comprehensive Utah estate plans incorporate both.

A will primarily addresses matters that arise after death, including the administration of the probate estate and nomination of a guardian for minor children.

A living trust can operate while you are alive, provide instructions for managing trust property during incapacity, and establish how properly funded assets should be managed or distributed after death.

Trust administration may also offer greater privacy than probate proceedings because assets passing through probate can become part of a court-supervised process.

Whether you need a trust depends on factors such as:

The property you own
Whether you own real estate
Your family structure
Whether you have minor children
The needs of your beneficiaries
Business ownership
Your preferences concerning probate
Whether assets should remain managed after your death
Your incapacity-planning goals

A Salt Lake City wills and trusts attorney can help you evaluate these considerations rather than choosing documents based solely on their names or perceived advantages.

Why Might Someone Use Both a Will and a Trust?

Even individuals with a revocable living trust commonly maintain a will as part of their estate plan.

For example, a pour-over will can be designed to work alongside a living trust by directing certain property toward the trust after death, subject to the applicable administration process. A will can also address the nomination of guardians for minor children—an issue that is not replaced simply by establishing a trust.

Using the documents together can create a more complete plan by addressing circumstances that either document might not adequately cover on its own.

When Should You Update Your Will or Trust?

Estate planning is not necessarily finished when the documents are signed. Changes in your life can affect whether an existing will or trust still reflects your intentions.

It may be appropriate to review your estate plan following:

Marriage or divorce
The birth or adoption of a child
The death of a beneficiary or designated decision-maker
Purchasing or selling significant property
Starting or selling a business
Receiving an inheritance
Major changes in financial circumstances
Moving to Utah from another state
Changes in family relationships
Significant changes in applicable law

Even without a major life event, periodic reviews can help identify outdated provisions, beneficiary designations, or assets that were never properly coordinated with a trust.

How Can a Salt Lake City Wills and Trusts Attorney Help?

Estate planning involves connecting your legal documents with your actual family and financial circumstances. A carefully drafted trust may accomplish little if important assets are never coordinated with it, while a will that has not been updated after significant life changes may no longer reflect your intentions.

John Park Law helps Utah clients evaluate the entire estate planning picture. Our attorneys can assist with preparing and updating wills, establishing and amending trusts, reviewing trust funding, planning for incapacity, and coordinating estate planning documents with real estate and other significant assets.

Whether you are beginning an estate plan, considering a Utah revocable living trust, or reviewing documents prepared years ago, our goal is to help you understand your options and create a plan that provides clear instructions for the future.

Call John Park Law at (801) 701-3330 to schedule a consultation with a Salt Lake City wills and trusts attorney at our Cottonwood Heights office.