Good family estate planning and legacy wealth planning typically makes provision for the financial needs of beneficiaries in the immediate aftermath of death. However, wills transfer wealth following death through a court process known as probate. Probate results in a court order authorizing one or more individuals, known as a personal representative, to administer the estate of the deceased and thus, distribute assets from the estate of the deceased to beneficiaries. Unfortunately, probate can be a slow process. For a successful entrepreneur with a complex estate, probate can take months if not years.

In an estate planning trust, no probate is needed. Assets transferred into an estate planning trust no longer belong to the deceased. Upon death, the trustee can provide for the financial needs of beneficiaries from the trust assets in accordance with the wishes of the deceased.

It is sometimes thought that probate is unnecessary where a will nominates the personal representative, known as an executor, to administer the estate. Whilst in theory the executor has the authority to administer the estate without applying for probate, in practice, financial institutions and other businesses may refuse to deal with the executor without probate. There are many reasons why financial institutions may insist on probate. For example, without probate, there may be uncertainty as to whether the individual claiming to the executor is in fact the proper personal representative of the estate of the deceased.

An estate planning trust overcomes these difficulties. An estate planning trust creates a legal relationship separate and distinct from the deceased in advance of death. Financial institutions and other businesses dealing with an estate planning trust thus continue to deal with the trust without interruption following death.

Good family estate planning and legacy wealth planning reduces the risk of disputes as to who has the power and authority to distribute assets and as to the identity and shares of the beneficiaries to those assets. As estate planning trusts are setup inter-vivos, meaning during the lifetime of the settlor, the risk of a dispute arising is much reduced. The beneficiaries can see the trust in action as the settlor works with the trustee

An estate planning trust is typically a confidential arrangement. In contrast, the contents of a will, including the plan for distribution and the amount of assets within the estate, may be made public in the course of probate.