A living trust brings all of your assets together under one plan with one set of instructions. A properly prepared and funded living trust is more private than a will and is not as easily contested. A properly prepared and funded revocable living trust plan avoids probate at death, including multiple probates if you own property in other states. (Possible exceptions are IRAs and other tax-deferred plans.) This makes it much easier to provide fair inheritances to your beneficiaries, as opposed to trying to balance inheritances with beneficiary designations and joint ownership because of fluctuating values of investment accounts, life insurance policies and other assets. By contrast, a will only controls assets that are titled solely in your name; it does not control most jointly owned assets or those for which you have named a valid beneficiary(s).