Living wills and living trusts are estate planning tools with similar names, but they couldn’t be more different. A living trust, also known as a revocable living trust, is becoming an increasingly popular way to transfer assets to the next generation without the need for a probate proceeding.

An important aspect of developing an estate plan is assessing how financially responsible your adult children are. It’s critical to be realistic with this analysis because you won’t be around to pick up the pieces if your adult children squander their inheritance. If your adult children are young, have special needs, are prone to alcohol or drug abuse or have a history of losing jobs and/or failed businesses, it might be best to put their inheritance into a trust rather than transferring funds outright. In such cases, it’s a good idea to speak to an estate planning attorney about how putting their inheritance into a spendthrift trust could provide for them while protecting the assets.

Some people think they don’t need an estate plan because they’re not wealthy. That’s a dangerous misconception because there’s much more to an estate plan than saving money on estate taxes. Estate plans help minimize conflict after your death, and can also be useful if you become incapacitated during your lifetime. It’s important to speak to an experienced estate planning attorney about developing a plan that’s right for your family.