Difference Between Wills & Trusts - Arizona Probate, LLC

In this post I will discuss some of the major differences between simple wills and trusts. There are many different kinds of trusts, such as revocable living trusts, charitable remainder trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, special needs trusts, qualified terminable interest property trusts, etc. In this post when I refer to a trust, I’m referring to a simple, revocable living trust (RLT).

How are they similar?

Both a Will and an RLT allow you to choose who gets your assets when you die, and who will oversee the administration of your estate. Both a Will and an RLT can help avoid a court appointed conservatorship by creating a Trust for minor beneficiaries when you die. As far as nominating someone to act as guardian for your minor children, that would be done in a Will. One of the most important goals of both Wills and RLTs is to give your loved ones peace of mind knowing they are following your wishes.

Main Difference

The main difference between an RLT and a Will is that a Will has to go through probate while an RLT does not. When both trustors of an RLT pass away, ideally no court involvement will be required. I say ideally because every situation is different, and it’s always possible that something will come up that requires court involvement. Regardless of whether the decedent had a Will or an RLT, someone can contest it in court. The goal is always for the Will or the Trust to hold up in court if someone does contest it, but the document itself doesn’t prevent someone from filing something with the court.

Even if the trustors had an RLT, probate may still be required. This occurs when the trustor failed to title all of his assets in the name of his RLT. This is when the Pour Over Will (POW) comes into play. The purpose of the POW is to “pour” the assets into the RLT via probate or Small Estate Affidavit, depending on the total value of all assets that are titled in the name of the decedent and that do not have a named beneficiary. At that point you are possibly looking at trust administration expenses on top of probate expenses.

Size of your estate

An important consideration when determining whether to have a Will or an RLT is the size of your estate. As of 2026, the federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions are:

$15 million per individual; and
$30 million per married couple.

This means that when you die, if your estate is below the current threshold, your heirs/beneficiaries will not have to pay those particular taxes. As of 2026, Arizona does not have an estate or inheritance tax. If the value of your estate is above the current tax exemptions, you may want to consider consulting an attorney about drafting an RLT or some other kind of Trust(s) to address any potential tax liabilities.

Cost of Probate vs. Trust Administration

The costs of probates and trust administrations are often very similar, depending on whether the personal representative (PR) or trustee hires someone to assist or if she handles it on her own. Another major determination would be whether they hire an attorney or an Arizona Certified Legal Document Preparer like Arizona Probate, LLC, which would likely save them quite a bit of money. See our Services page for our reasonable rates.

Where you reside when you die can make a difference

Another factor that may affect the cost of probate would be where the decedent was residing at his time of death. Arizona allows for the filing of an informal probate if it is filed within 2 years of date of death AND there is either no Will, OR the PR has the ORIGINAL Will, NOT just a copy. Arizona Probate, LLC charges $1,500 + costs to assist with an informal probate. As of April 12, 2026, if a person dies while residing in California with an estate worth $300,000, the statutory attorney’s fee would be $9,000, and the statutory fee for the personal representative would also be $9,000, for a total of $18,000. If you Google “California probate fee calculator,” you will find links to numerous calculators to see this for yourself.

Ancillary Probates

If you file a probate in Arizona but the decedent also had real property in another state, you will most likely have to open an ancillary probate in that state as well. You can avoid this sort of situation by having an RLT and having all of your property properly titled in the name of your RLT. It is important to note that you may have some assets that should not be titled in the name of your RLT – again, each situation is unique.

So, whether you choose a Will or an RLT really depends on your particular situation. Just remember that if you have an RLT, the proper titling of your assets is key if you would like to avoid probate.

The information on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.