One of the common things I hear from families goes something like this:
“When my parents passed, it was a mess. We don’t want our kids to go through the same thing.”
In many of those situations, the parents only had wills in place. Wills can serve a purpose, but once your estate grows into the multimillion-dollar range, they often fall short.
A trust isn’t about hitting a specific number — it’s about addressing the complexity of your estate, the dynamics of your family, and the legacy goals you care about.
Why Wills Often Fall Short
With a will, assets typically pass through probate. That means:
- Court involvement: The courts oversee distributions, which can drag the process out for a year or more.
- Delays for heirs: Beneficiaries may be waiting on access to funds when they need them most.
- Life-changing sums with no guardrails: A will can result in children inheriting millions of dollars outright, with no protections or structure.
For families who have built significant wealth, that lack of control and efficiency can cause frustration, delays, and even conflict.
What a Trust Adds
A trust streamlines the transfer process and allows you to design protections around your wealth. Some of the key benefits include:
- Avoiding probate: Assets move directly to beneficiaries, often much faster.
- Control over distribution: You can decide when and how heirs receive funds, rather than leaving it to the courts.
- Protection from outside risks: Trusts can shield assets from creditors, divorce settlements, or poor financial decisions.
- Cost savings: While there are upfront costs to establish a trust, avoiding probate delays and legal disputes often saves money in the long run.
When a Trust Makes Sense
It’s not about hitting a specific number. There isn’t a magic dollar figure where you “must” have a trust.
Instead, it’s about when the complexity of your estate or the amount of money being passed down calls for something more structured than a simple will.
With an estate of around $5 million, you’re talking about potentially millions of dollars going to each child. That’s life-changing money, and leaving it entirely to the courts is rarely the outcome families want.
Protecting Your Legacy
The goal of estate planning is to make your wealth a blessing to your children, not a source of stress.
If you’ve reached the point where your estate is worth several million dollars, it’s likely time to go beyond a will. A trust can help ensure your legacy transfers smoothly, quickly, and with protections in place for the next generation.
This post is adapted from a recent episode of the Scholar Wealth Podcast. Listen here for the full discussion.