A trust can give a trustee instructions for managing property during your life and after your death. It can be the hub of your estate plan. But the trust document does not give someone every authority they might need, and it does not automatically change how you own your assets.
A complete plan considers the decisions that may arise during your lifetime as well as what happens after death. Depending on your circumstances, its supporting documents may include:
- A financial power of attorney, which authorizes someone to handle financial matters within the authority you grant.
- An advance health care directive, which can name someone to make health care decisions and record your instructions.
- A will, which can address property outside the trust and other matters the trust document does not handle.
These documents have different jobs. A trustee manages property held in the trust. A financial agent may need to deal with an account that remains in your individual name if you become unable to act. A health care agent handles decisions about your care, not the management of trust property. Utah’s advance health care directive can include both health care instructions and a power of attorney for health care.
The documents also need to work with your assets
Suppose you sign a trust but leave a bank account in your own name. Your successor trustee may have no authority over that account simply because the trust exists. A financial power of attorney might help while you are alive. After your death, a will may direct the account toward the trust, but using the will could require probate.
That is why completing an estate plan involves more than signing documents. You also need to review titles, account ownership, and beneficiary designations. Each should support the outcome you intend. The right set of documents and transfers depends on your family, your assets, and the decisions you want others to be able to make.
