She sat across from me at my conference table, her mother beside her.
Her sister had died in a car accident. Tragically. Far too young. And now, on top of everything else her family was carrying, she was in the middle of administering her sister’s estate.
No trust. Possibly a will — but no one could find it. It did not matter much either way. Without a trust, the estate still had to go through probate regardless.
By the time we sat down together, her family had already spent over $35,000 in probate costs. And they were not finished.
But it was not the dollar amount that stopped me. It was the next thing she said.
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“We had to front all of it. We couldn’t access any of her accounts yet. What would have happened if we hadn’t had the money?” |
Then she looked at her mother — my client, who had just updated her own trust documents after losing her daughter — and said she was grateful. Grateful that her mom had a trust. That when the time came, the family would have immediate access to what they needed. No courts. No fronting costs. No waiting.
I have been practicing estate planning and elder law in Minnesota and Florida for nearly 30 years. I have sat across from thousands of families. And that moment — a daughter grieving one loss while bracing for another, finding relief in a single document her mother had the foresight to create — is exactly why I do this work.
The Problem Is Not That People Don’t Care. It’s That They’ve Been Misinformed.
Most people who come into my office without a trust are not irresponsible. They have a will. They did something. They believed, reasonably, that a will was enough.
It is not. And the gap between what people believe about wills and trusts and what the law actually says is where families get hurt.
Here are the three places that gap costs people the most.
1. Probate Costs More Than Anyone Tells You — And Someone Has to Pay It Upfront
In Florida, probate fees are set by statute. Under Florida Statute §733.617, the personal representative and their attorney are each entitled to 3% of the estate on the first million dollars. On a $750,000 estate — not unusual for a Florida homeowner with some savings — that is $45,000 in fees. Before your family sees a single dollar.
Minnesota works differently on paper. The state originally had a fixed fee schedule similar to Florida’s, but it was challenged and the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled it potentially unconstitutional. What replaced it was a “reasonable compensation” standard — which in practice benchmarks to the same 3% + 3% figure from the Uniform Probate Code. Even the simplest Minnesota probate typically runs $5,000 to $6,000 at minimum, and commonly well over $10,000.
But the number is only part of the story. The other part — the one nobody mentions — is that your family may have to come up with that money before they can access the estate’s assets to cover it. Probate restricts access to accounts until the process reaches certain milestones. That means grief, a funeral to plan, and tens of thousands of dollars to find out of pocket. At the same time.
A trust eliminates all of it. No statutory fees, no mandatory court involvement, and immediate access to assets from the day they’re needed most.
2. The Delays Are Not Just Inconvenient. Sometimes They Have Real Consequences.
Probate in Florida and Minnesota takes a minimum of 12 months when everything goes smoothly. In contested cases, it can run for years. During that entire period, your family’s access to most estate assets is restricted.
I helped a woman whose husband died days after his retirement — a tragic accident leaving a restaurant after a celebration with co-workers. He had a lake home from before their marriage, titled in his name alone. A few months after he died, a storm damaged it. His wife could not collect the insurance proceeds. His name was the only one on the deed. So we had to open probate.
Then a disinherited son from his first marriage showed up at the initial hearing and said three words: “I challenge this.” He never appeared again. Never filed a single document. But those three words were enough to convert the proceeding to formal probate — more court supervision, more time, more cost, landing on a widow who was already grieving.
With a trust, that property would have transferred automatically. No probate to open. And if he wanted to challenge a trust, he would have needed to retain an attorney, file formal pleadings, and pay court filing fees just to get started. I do not believe he would have done it. A will made disruption effortless. A trust would have made it cost something.
3. Your Will Is a Public Document. More People Can See It Than You Think.
The moment a will enters probate, it becomes part of the public record. Anyone — a creditor, a scammer, an estranged relative — can walk into the courthouse and read it. What you owned. Who you left it to. Every dollar.
Years ago I helped a client navigate the probate of his brother’s estate. His brother and sister-in-law had died in a snowmobile accident at their Wisconsin lake cabin over the holidays. Minnesota residents. Minnesota probate. And because of that, the $3 million their two young adult children inherited was public knowledge. A whole lot of people decided they wanted to help spend it.
There was nothing we could do. The record was public and permanent.
A trust never enters the public record. What your family inherits, and how much, stays between them and your attorney.
The Bottom Line
A will is a set of instructions for the court to follow during a process most families would do anything to avoid.
A properly funded trust sidesteps that process entirely — privately, efficiently, and at a fraction of what probate would cost the same estate.
For a full breakdown of the seven most common misconceptions families bring into estate planning — including what the law actually says about trustee accountability, attorney fees, and why trusts are not just for the wealthy — read the full article: 7 Common Myths About Wills vs. Trusts.
If you have been relying on a will and wondering whether it is enough, I would be glad to talk through your situation.
Call us today at (941) 909-4644 for our Sarasota County, Florida office or at (763) 420-5087 for our Minnetonka, Minnesota office to schedule a consultation to discuss your own planning. Or you can fill out the contact form on this page and a member of our team will reach out to schedule your consultation.
Join us in my upcoming masterclass where I reveal strategies I use with my private clients to help them avoid probate, save on taxes, protect the money they leave for their kids in the event they get divorced and much more. Click here to register.
About Chuck Roulet
Chuck Roulet is an estate planning and elder law attorney with nearly 30 years of experience, licensed in both Minnesota and Florida. He is the founding attorney of Roulet Law Firm, P.A., with offices in Minnetonka, MN and Venice, FL. He has been featured in USA Today and other national media, and is the author of The Florida Snowbird Guide.
Legal Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws vary by state and individual circumstances differ. Please consult a licensed attorney in your state for advice specific to your situation. Roulet Law Firm, P.A. is licensed to practice law in Minnesota and Florida.
