You assure prudent investment management by allowing you to select a knowledgeable Trustee. You protect your hard-earned assets from undesirable influences outside your family. The principal purpose behind making a Will, after all, is to protect your family members, or other beneficiaries. Simple Wills are designed primarily for small to moderate size estates. A simple Will, however, fails to provide a means of relieving the surviving spouse s estate of a heavy tax burden created by the inheritance of all the decedent s property.
Estate taxes are the most onerous of federal taxes.
By not making a Will containing certain tax-saving provisions, you may unwittingly reduce the property remaining for your beneficiaries. A properly drawn Will may reduce, and in some cases eliminate, death taxes. The use of a trust in a Will for the benefit of your spouse and other family members, such as a credit shelter trust, often reduces this estate tax burden. You should carefully investigate the tax savings benefits of such a document. The overall savings in taxes and administration costs normally outweighs the charge for a Will.