Last week, I started this series on trusts with a very basic overview of what a trust is — a legal agreement between three parties, captured in a document usually called trust agreement, where the trustee(s) manages the assets of the grantor(s) for the benefit of the beneficiary(ies). This week, I’m focusing on some of the main types of trusts. Trusts can be broadly sorted into binary categories, and it’s helpful to start with these broad categories in order to understand why your attorney is recommending one type of trust over another. Different trusts are useful for different reasons, depending on the situation.

For the month of January, I’m going to explore trusts. Trusts can be a useful part of an estate plan, but they are not nearly as ubiquitous in Washington State as they are in man other parts of the country. In many states, like California and Florida, trusts are significantly easier and cheaper than probate, where a $670,000 estate could spend almost $34,000 on attorney fees and court fees. In Washington, attorney and court fees rarely exceed a few thousand dollars. Because trusts are not as frequently used in Washington, I get a lot of questions about what they are, how they work, and why I am (or am not) recommending one. This series of blogs will help explain what a trust is, what the differences are between different kinds of trusts, and when you might need one.