What's a will? What's a trust?

Later life is when most people get serious about making preparations for the day that they are no longer on this earth or if they permanently need to live in a nursing home. It involves a lot of work to make one's material wishes known. Many people walk into this stage of life ignorant of two legal documents — a last will and testament as well as a trust — and how they work. By ignorant, I don't mean stupid. The word ignorant means lacking awareness or knowledge. To raise awareness, in very broad and simple terms, I am going to talk about a last will and testament and a trust: • A last will and testament, also known simply as a will, is a legal document that is used after the person has died. It directs how the deceased person's money/property/assets and possibly other material items are distributed to those who are named in the will. • A trust is more complicated. The first reason it is more complicated is because there is more than one kind of trust. I'll list four, which may be familiar to you: — Special needs trust — Charitable trust — Irrevocable trust — Revocable trust Generally speaking, a trust, as explained by Fidelity, is a legal document that allows a third party, also known as a trustee, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries. A beneficiary is the person selected to benefit/receive the assets. Trusts can be arranged in many ways and can specify exactly how and when the assets pass to the beneficiaries. But — there is always a "but" — if the trust is a revocable trust, the trustee managing the trust can also be the same person who had the trust created. It is not managed by a third party. Trusts and wills have advantages and disadvantages. An older person, who is trying to get their house in order, would be wise to take the time to gain a basic understanding of each. If I have piqued your interest, I invite you to attend the public forum titled, "What is a will? What is a trust? What is the difference?" It will be hosted from 1:30-3 p.m. on Nov. 6, at the Erie County Senior Center, 620 E. Water Street, Sandusky. A panel of attorneys — Brandon Leal of Wickens Herzer Panza; John Ball of John R. Ball Attorney; and Michael Brumbaugh of The Law Office of Michael L. Brumbaugh — will answer questions from the audience. I will facilitate the dialogue between the audience and the panel. Advanced registration is required. An audience of 30 or more is needed to justify the time of the panelists. To do so, contact Serving Our Seniors reservation line at 419-504-0585, or email at mail@servingourseniors.org, by Oct. 30. Leave your name, phone number and the name of this event. If the forum is canceled, you will be notified by telephone.