Reference no: EM131366833

Jack, a widower, has been researching and looking into getting an estate plan to distribute his property on his death. He has heard of the horrors of probate court and wants to avoid that. He has two children, Larry and Janet. Of his two children, he only likes and trusts Larry, not Janet. In fact, he wants his estate to be distributed only to Larry, and nothing to Janet. As to his assets, he has a house in his sole name (with a lot of equity in it) antiques, oil paintings, jewelry he inherited from his wife, all of the miscellaneous personal property located in the house, and $250,000.00 cash in the bank. He seeks to avoid probate, and avoid lawsuits over his estate after he dies. However, Janet has always been a trouble maker and thinks she may attempt to cause problems after his death. The only problem with Larry is that he has severe financial problems. Larry has filed bankruptcy twice, has judgments against himself, and has severe creditor problems. Jack wants to get either a Will or Trust, but is not sure what to get. He also heard about the possibility of joint tenancy. In Jack's situation, describe the differences between a Will and a Trust, and the advantages and disadvantages of each for Jack, and decide if Jack should get a Will or a Trust. Please explain.