Estate Planning
Murphy Law Firm can assist in designing a customized estate planning solution to meet your desired goals and needs. From probate avoidance, asset protection, taxes, to incapacity planning, Murphy Law Firm will help you mitigate unintended consequences.
Is a Will Right for You?
Benefits of a Will
Designation of Beneficiaries
The individual can specify who they want to receive their assets.
Specific Bequests
The individual can make specific gifts of specific items or amounts of money to specific individuals.
Guardianship
The individual can also use the will to appoint a guardian for minor children or dependents.
Is a Trust Right for You?
Benefits of a Trust
Probate Avoidance
Assets held in a trust do not go through the probate process, which can save time and money.
Asset Protection for Beneficiaries
A trust can be used to protect assets from legal issues such as lawsuits, creditors, bankruptcy and divorce.
Tax Benefits
A trust can be used to minimize or eliminate estate, gift and income taxes.
Wills and Living Trusts Comparison
Will Features
Living Trust Features
What is it? A will is a straightforward tool that directs to whom one would like to leave their assets upon death. A will also names a personal representative, or PR (aka executor) who will do the administrative work of winding-up the deceased person’s
affairs through a court process called probate.
What is it? A trust is an alternative tool, which, like a will, directs to whom one would like to leave their assets upon death. A trust names a trustee, who plays an equivalent role to that of the will’s PR in winding-up the deceased person’s affairs through a private administrative process, which does not involve a probate court process.
Lower maintenance during life. After signing a will, it can be put in a safe place and checked off the to-do list. We suggest a review of your will every few years and also upon major life changes.
Slightly higher maintenance during life. It is essential that a trust be “funded” during lifetime in order to avoid probate. This may necessitate updating beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies, bank accounts and other investment accounts.. If you choose to have a trust prepared, it is our preference to assist with the “funding” of your assets into the trust to ensure probate avoidance. We will also give you written instructions of how we would suggest you “fund” your trust for any assets acquired in the future.
Probate is required. In Arkansas, if someone dies as the sole owner of at least $100,000 (in 2023) in assets at the time of their death, a probate court case will be required to permit the transfer of those assets to the beneficiaries named in the will. A separate probate case would be required in each state that one owns real estate upon their death. Life insurance policies and retirement accounts that name beneficiaries do not require probate to transfer to beneficiaries.
Avoids probate. Some people strongly prefer the use of a trust because trusts avoid probate court if used in accordance with our simple instructions. For those with real estate in multiple states, many prefer to use a trust because this eliminates the need for probate in each state where real estate is owned.
Distributions take longer. The PR must wait to distribute the assets until the court permits distributions to be made. Typically, it takes at least six months until beneficiaries can receive an inheritance assuming there is no contest of the will or other time consuming issue for the court to resolve.
Distributions happen faster. Distributions can be made more quickly with a trust. Upon death, and generally with minimal delay, the trustee may distribute inheritances
per the instructions of the trust without the oversight of the probate court.
Guardianship for minor children. A will permits the appointment of a legal guardian(s) for your minor children.
No Guardianship for minor children. A trust does not permit the appointment of a legal guardian(s) for your minor children; rather, a trust allows for the appointment of a trustee who will generally manage trust assets on behalf of legal guardian for the benefit of your minor children.
No Asset Protection. A will offers no asset protection to an individual during lifetime; however, a testamentary trust created through a properly probated will can offer asset protection to your beneficiaries upon death.
Asset Protection. A living trust (aka revocable trust) offers no asset protection to an individual during their lifetime but can afford substantial asset protection for your beneficiaries upon death.
Incapacity. A will becomes effective upon one’s death and thus has no effect upon physical or mental incapacity. During one’s lifetime, a general durable (financial) power of attorney can be utilized to enable access to one’s assets during a variety of emergency situations.
Incapacity. Upon physical or mental incapacity, a successor trustee is typically named in the trust immediately permitting an appointed individual to act on your behalf with respect to assets owned by the trust.
Income taxes. A will has no effect on one’s income taxes.
Income taxes. A trust generally has no effect on one’s income taxes. Although it is technically an entity, a trust is ignored for income tax purposes and is not treated as a separate taxable entity; thus it is not required to file a separate income tax return. As a result, income, expenses and deductions associated with a trust are reported on one’s individual return.
Estate taxes. Whether one dies with a will or a trust, the tax implications are the same. Most Americans are not charged a death tax (or estate tax) upon death. For Americans that die in 2023, taxes will not be assessed for those with total assets under $12,920,000 for a single person (or $25,840,000 for a married couple).
Estate taxes. Whether one dies with a will or a trust, the tax implications are the same. Most Americans are not charged a death tax (or estate tax) upon death. For Americans that die in 2023, taxes will not be assessed for those with total assets under $12,920,000 for a single person (or $25,840,000 for a married couple).
Privacy. Upon death, a will becomes public record at the courthouse. This means that anyone curious can easily learn who is scheduled to inherit the assets of someone once they have died.
Privacy. Arkansas trusts do not need to be recorded with the court or government, so one’s trust can be insulated from public view, sheltered from scrutiny of heirs of one’s estate and concealed from other beneficiaries of the trust. This privacy interest may be useful for those who want to divide assets disproportionately or if there are individuals who you would prefer not to know the details of who is to inherit what.
Flexibility. A will can be written to achieve a variety of goals and can be amended later in life if circumstances change.
Flexibility. A trust can be written to achieve a variety of goals and can be amended later in life if circumstances change.
Cost. A will-based estate plan tends to be a lower-cost tool to create but can be more expensive to administer upon death.
Cost. Trusts are more costly to create but tend to be more economical and cost efficient to administer upon death.
Will Breakdown
Living Trust Breakdown
Estate Tax Planning 
Estate Tax Planning
Income Tax Planning: Limited and often not included
Income Tax Planning
Names Someone to Handle Your Affairs When You Die
Names Someone to Handle Your Affairs When You Die
Names Who You Want to Receive Your Accounts and Property
Names Who You Want to Receive Your Accounts and Property
Names Someone to Handle Your Affairs if You Are Unable 
Names Someone to Handle Your Affairs if You Are Unable
Asset Protection for Heirs / Beneficiaries: Possible but often not included
Asset Protection for Heirs / Beneficiaries
Avoids “Living” Probate
Avoids “Living” Probate
Avoids Probate
Avoids Probate
Private Access
Private Access
What happens if you don't have an Estate Plan?
Those who die with descendants, but no spouse, leave everything to their descendants.
Those who have a spouse of at least three (3) years and no descendants leave everything to their spouse.
Those who have a spouse for less than three (3) years with no descendants leave half (50%) to their spouse and half (50%) to their parents. If the parents are no longer living, then the order of inheritance goes to siblings, then nieces and nephews, and then other relatives (e.g. surviving grandparents, aunts and uncles then to surviving great-grandparents, surviving great-aunts, surviving great-uncles, etc.
Those who have a spouse of at least three (3) years and descendants leave one-third (33.33%) of their personal property and a one-third (33.33%) of real property in the form of a life estate to their spouse and two-thirds (66.66%) of personal property and two-thirds (66.66%) of real property in the estate goes to their descendants.
Ultimately, you need an estate plan because the probate court’s administration of your estate is not subjective and is strictly subject to the State inheritance laws outlined above.
At a minimum, everyone should have a basic last will and testament expressly outlining their wishes upon death.
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