Don’t put off estate planning any longer — get started today at ascend.org/trust-and-will.

Creating an estate plan may seem unnecessary, but it plays a crucial role in protecting your loved ones and your assets in the future. It’s not just for the wealthy, either — when you have the right tools and a partner like Ascend, estate planning can be easy and more affordable.

What is estate planning?

Estate planning is the process of preparing for how your assets — savings, property, and personal belongings — will be managed and distributed after your lifetime. It helps ensure that your wishes are honored, your loved ones are cared for, and unnecessary stress or costs are avoided.

Will vs. Trust: What's the difference?

Wills and trusts are both great estate planning tools that allow you to say who will receive your assets when you’re gone and how. However, they serve different purposes and have their own advantages and disadvantages:

Wills

• Simpler documents with easier, less-expensive initial set up than trusts

• Name guardians, designate where your assets go, and specify your final arrangements

• Offer more limited control over the distribution of your assets than trusts

• Often must go through a probate process, which is a court-supervised proceeding that validates a will after you’re deceased and disperses assets, debts, and taxes

Trusts

• Can be more complex to set up than wills

• Provide greater control over when and how your assets are distributed than wills

• Only apply to assets that are held in the trust

• Minimize or avoid probate entirely, which can sometimes take years to complete

When should you start?

Don’t put off estate planning, especially if you’re married or have children. You can even start laying the foundation for your estate plan in your 20s by creating a will, designating beneficiaries for your assets, and setting up a health care directive for medical treatments in the event you can’t make those decisions.

As you move through life and things evolve, so can your estate plan. Revisit it often to ensure your plan remains aligned with your wishes.

Ascend members get estate planning savings.

Through our partnership with Trust & Will, Ascend members can save when creating trusts or wills and have access to valuable estate planning services. Trust & Will makes setting up estate plans easy with step-by-step instructions and expert support available if you have any questions.

By creating a clear estate plan, you can create peace of mind knowing your assets are secure. Don’t put off estate planning any longer — get started today at ascend.org/trust-and-will.

Ascend is federally insured by NCUA.

Ascend is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. The information provided by Ascend is for general informational purposes only. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified legal professional.