Nothing highlights advantages and disadvantages better than a real-life side-by-side comparison. In this case, a colleague was the executor for the modest estates of two relatives, in the same state, only a year apart.
The background: relative #1 kept meticulous records so she refused any kind of estate planning beyond a Will. Relative #2 had performed no estate planning beyond setting up a Revocable Living Trust and then placed his assets into it (re-titled the house and a few financial accounts). This was no fancy estate plan, just the most basic mechanism that every estate planning attorney would recommend for most people.
So how did these estate plans work out? Settling the estate of relative #2 consisted of two phone calls and a few paperwork filings. Extremely easy, very efficient, and the entire estate was settled within a few weeks.
The estate of relative #1 (who had a Will and meticulous records) took two years, triple the attorney fees, court drama, and one of the assets was unable to be maintained during some of this period, reducing its value for the heirs. All of this occurred within a state with a “relatively easy” probate process with low fees.
My colleague now says: “It is a rude burden to pass on an un-prepared estate without a revocable living trust.” She calls it irresponsible and unloving to dump all the work and expense on heirs. She will no longer be the executor for estates without some minimal planning. She says, “If they aren’t willing to let me help them upfront – which reduces my burden and expense by 80% with a couple steps, then they can find someone else.”