1. You’ve written a will leaving everything to your wife and children. They will inherit all your assets upon your death.

Not necessarily. Your IRA, life insurance policy, and annuities go to whomever you named as beneficiary regardless of whom you named as an heir in your will. If you forgot to change the beneficiary designation and the insurance lists, say, your brother or an old friend, your spouse and children are out of luck! Other assets, including jointly held property such as your checking accounts and house---automatically pass to the surviving joint owner, even if your will states that they go to your kids or a favorite charity.

For trusts, as for wills, the same precautions apply. A trust—an arrangement where a person transfers property to a trustee who is instructed on how to administer that property for a benefit of the heirs—won’t carry out your wishes if the trust never receives your assets because you neglected to pay close attention to how your assets are owned or to name beneficiaries.

2. Therefore, if most property passes through trusts, you don’t really need that will after all.

Wrong again. Your “gross” testamentary estate the sum of all the things that you own outright—is passed on through the will. The will is used as guide by a probate judge to divide such property as a car, furniture, jewelry, even a bank account or stock you hold solely in your name. It may also include a major asset like stock options, which will be exercised upon your death and typically aren’t jointly held.

3. Isn’t it simpler to name you estate as beneficiary for all policies and pension plans?

To avoid having to change beneficiaries every time your will or trust documents are altered, some people name their estate as beneficiary for pension funds or life insurance policies. That can be a costly mistake because it’s subjecting your heirs to pay unnecessary taxes. By law, proceeds from pension plans payable to an estate must be distributed within five years. Since pension plan funds left to anyone other than a spouse are taxed as part of the estate, the large amounts paid out to meet the tax deadline can push your heirs into a very high tax bracket. In addition, they would also have to pay the estate taxes on these funds. Though generally not liable for any tax if going to a named beneficiary, life insurance proceeds become subject to estate taxes if the estate is named as beneficiary. Naming an estate also means the probate court will be in charge of distributing the money, leading to more delays, fees, and unnecessary exposure to creditors.

4. Why not write your own will and save some money in the bargain?

Technically, you can write your own will, but it’s unwise. Complex tax and probate laws change yearly from state to state. A specialist’s job is to know the details; not only does the lawyer write the will, but will help you update whom you’ve named as beneficiaries, change ownership of properties as needed, and find ways to prevent your heirs from being taxed excessively. Your lawyer will know the right questions to ask many times making you think about things you didn’t think we’re an issue.

The cost of estate planning may be more than you want to spend but will be far less than the cost if you have no planning. You can assist in lowering the cost by getting a solid grip on what you own, how you own it, and how it’s set up before your estate planning conference. It’s also a good idea, to have discussions with your partner and family about the choices for your administrator (the person who handles the distribution of your estate), your children’s guardian, and trustees.

Review your estate documents every time you experience major marital or financial changes, Minor financial changes will not be costly, but a second marriage often requires a whole new estate plan. The beneficiaries on various policies and pensions will also need to be updated.

5. But it seems my estate is too modest for all this elaborate planning.