Maybe people who don't want to go through the hassle of funding a living trust while they're alive, but also doesn't want their after-death gifts to be a matter of public record. They could give their estate to a trust via their will, and specify named beneficiaries through the privacy of the trust. The other option is to have it funded when you're facing death or disability. Then, if you should become disabled, that person has the authority to fund the trust, and transfer assets into it. Since that person is either a trustee or alternative trustee, he or she can use the assets to care for you in your final illness.
Many lawyers caution against trying to fund unfunded trusts at the last minute.
Your state may not allow granting such powers of attorney. All in all, you're better off funding the trust when it is created. Consumer Warning A number of scam artists, playing on elderly people's fear of probate and suspicion of lawyers, have taken to hawking living trust kits door to door or through seminars. Some of these hucksters deliberately exaggerate the costs and difficulties of the probate process, even though probate procedures and fees in many states, especially for simple estates, aren't onerous anymore. Authorities in several states have filed consumer fraud suits against these outfits for misrepresenting themselves as part of AARP and not informing consumers that they could cancel contracts signed in the home within three days after the agreement.