If you’ve ever typed “will vs. trust” into a search bar late at night and come away more confused than when you started, that confusion is more common than most people realize.
Most people start looking into wills and trusts because they want to protect the people they love, keep hard decisions off someone else’s plate during an already difficult time, and make sure what they’ve built, including any gifts to causes they care about, ends up where they actually intend it to go. A will and a trust are two different tools for accomplishing that same goal, and they work in different ways.
August is “National Make a Will Month,” and since we’re an organization built on people’s long-term commitments, we think everyone benefits from understanding these two tools before deciding which one fits their life and how charitable giving might fit into these options. This isn’t legal advice, just the kind of plain-language education we wish more people had before they needed it. Earlier this month, we walked through what a charitable bequest actually is. Today, we’re covering the four places a will and a trust genuinely differ: probate, cost, privacy, and control. We’ve also put together a simple comparison table that you can reference in future.
A will is a document that takes effect after you pass away. It names your beneficiaries, appoints an executor, and can name a guardian for minor children.
A living trust works differently. It’s active as soon as you sign and fund it, meaning you can move assets in and out of it while you’re still alive, and it continues to manage those assets after you’re gone without needing court involvement.
Each one solves a different problem, and most estate plans end up using some combination of the two. Both can also include a gift to a charity, just in different ways, which we’ll get to below.
Probate: what it is, and why people try to avoid it
Probate is the court process that validates a will and oversees the distribution of an estate. It’s a matter of public record and depending on the state and how straightforward the estate is, it can take anywhere from a few months to well over a year. Executors typically need court approval for major decisions along the way, which can slow down a family that’s already grieving.
Assets placed inside a properly funded trust generally skip probate entirely. That’s the main reason people set trusts up in the first place. A will alone does not avoid probate, no matter how detailed it is, and that includes any charitable gifts named in it. If you’d rather keep the details of your giving private, that’s a point worth factoring in.
Cost and complexity
Wills are usually simpler and less expensive to create upfront. A trust typically costs more to set up, and it only works if it’s properly funded, meaning your accounts, property, and other assets are actually retitled in the trust’s name. This is the step people forget most often. A trust that was never funded doesn’t skip probate, since the assets outside it still have to pass through a will.
That’s also why most people with a trust still have what’s called a pour-over will alongside it, a backup that catches anything that never made it into the trust. In practice, choosing a trust means having both, working together. Either document is a straightforward place to add a gift to a charity, usually with a single clause naming the organization and the amount or percentage.
Privacy and control
Because a will goes through probate, it becomes part of the public record. Anyone can request to see what was in it. A trust stays private, which matters to people who would rather keep their finances and family arrangements out of a public file.
Trusts also give you more control over timing. You can stagger when beneficiaries receive assets, for instance releasing funds at certain ages or milestones, rather than transferring everything at once. That same flexibility applies to charitable giving. A will typically directs a one-time gift, while a trust can be set up to support a cause with ongoing or staggered gifts over a number of years, if that’s the kind of impact you’re after.
| Will | Living Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Takes effect | After you pass away | As soon as it’s signed and funded |
| Goes through probate | Yes | No, if properly funded |
| Typical upfront cost | Lower | Higher |
| Becomes public record | Yes, through probate | No, stays private |
| Contol over timing | One-time transfer | Can stagger or condition distributions |
| Can name a guardian for minor children | Yes | No, still requires a will |
| Including a gift to a charity | Simple bequest clause, one-time gift | Can name a charity as beneficiary, supports ongoing or staggered gifts |
Neither one has to be complicated
Plenty of people start with a will and add a trust later, once their assets or their family situation grows more complex. An estate planning attorney can help you figure out which combination actually fits your life. And whichever route you take, both a will and a trust can include a gift to the causes you care about.
At Heart for Africa, that’s part of why this topic matters to us. Project Canaan is a 2,500-acre sustainability project in Eswatini, home to hundreds of children and a school whose first class won’t graduate until around 2030. Work on that scale depends on people who plan for it, whether through a one-time bequest in a will or an ongoing gift structured through a trust. We want every donor to have a plan that protects their own family well first, and if a gift to Heart for Africa is part of that plan, we’d love to help you think through which option fits.
We’re here to help you think it through
This August, we’re introducing the Lifa Society, a way of honoring the friends who choose to include Heart for Africa in their will or trust. Lifa means legacy in Siswati, and whichever tool ends up fitting your plans, we’d be glad to be part of the conversation.
You can visit our Lifa Society page, or reach out directly to Jen Swindall, our Major & Legacy Gifts Officer, at jen@heartforafrica.org. There’s no pressure and no obligation. We’d simply love the chance to talk with you.