Why does the small-estate threshold matter?

Below that figure most states offer a simplified procedure that avoids full probate — which is the main practical thing a revocable trust is used to avoid. If an estate is likely to fall under it, the strongest everyday argument for a trust is weaker. The threshold is a published state figure, cited on your state page.

Does this draft anything?

No. Nothing on this site drafts a will, a trust, or any other document, and nothing you enter here is transmitted or stored. The quiz routes you to the requirements for your state and to the kind of professional who answers the question properly.

Will vs Trust Quiz

Seven questions covering the factors estate planners commonly treat as reasons to look past a simple will — property in two states, a business, incapacity planning, contest exposure. It shows its scoring as you answer and cites your state’s small-estate threshold rather than hiding the reasoning.

Your data never leaves your device Learn more

Estimate only — not legal advice. This is the published math for will vs trust quiz, shown as a range. Your actual outcome depends on facts, evidence, and decisions this page cannot see.

Tick anything that applies. Each question shows why it is being asked, and the running score is visible the whole way — there is nothing hidden to reveal at the end.

Is the estate likely to exceed your state’s small-estate threshold?+2Below that figure most states offer a simplified procedure that avoids full probate, which is the main practical thing a revocable trust is used to avoid. Your state page shows the figure and cites it.
Is there real property in more than one state?+2Property is generally probated where it sits, so land in a second state can mean a second proceeding. This is one of the most commonly cited reasons to ask about a trust.
Are there minor children, or a beneficiary who would need help managing money?+1Both wills and trusts can address this, but they do it differently — a will can name a guardian, which a trust cannot.
Is this a blended family, or is anyone likely to contest?+1Contest exposure and competing claims are a recognised planning complication. Naming it does not tell you which instrument fits.
Is there a business interest, or an asset that needs managing rather than dividing?+2An asset that has to be run rather than handed over raises questions a simple will does not answer.
Do you want someone able to manage assets if you become incapacitated?+2A will operates only on death. Incapacity planning is a separate question, usually involving a power of attorney and sometimes a trust.
Does it matter to you that probate is a public record?+1Probate filings are generally public; trust administration generally is not. Whether that matters is a preference, not a legal test.

Nothing you tick is transmitted or stored. (Will vs Trust Quiz)

Source of record

USA.gov — Wills, estates, and probate ↗Federal

🎓 Understand this tool

What it is

A seven-question check covering the factors estate planners commonly treat as reasons to look beyond a simple will. It shows its scoring as you answer and explains why each question is asked, because the reasoning is the part it can honestly offer.

How it works

Each question carries a weight, and the questions are the recurring practical complications: an estate above the state’s small-estate threshold, real property in more than one state, a business or an asset that needs managing rather than dividing, incapacity planning, contest exposure, minor children, and whether the public nature of probate matters to you. Your state’s small-estate threshold is a published figure, cited on its own page — it is what the first question turns on, and it is the reason the answer differs by state.

Getting the most from it

Set your state in the header so the threshold question is anchored to a real figure.
Tick only what genuinely applies. Ticking everything produces a score, not an insight.
Read the reasoning listed beside each factor you selected — that is the useful output, more than the total.
Take the list to an estate attorney. It makes the first conversation considerably shorter.

Reading your result

The result routes; it does not recommend. A high score means several of the commonly-cited complications apply to you, which is a reason to ask the question properly — not an indication that you need a trust. A low score means those particular factors were absent from your answers, which is not the same as a will being right for you.

What it can't tell you

This cannot weigh your facts, account for your state’s specific probate costs and timelines, consider tax, or know anything about your family. It does not draft documents and does not evaluate any you already have. Every quiz of this kind online ends at a phone number; this one ends at your state’s published requirements and the honest statement that a lawyer answers the rest.

Frequently asked questions

No, and no honest quiz can. It shows which of the commonly-cited complicating factors apply to what you entered, and the reasoning behind each one. Whether a trust fits your situation depends on facts a seven-question form cannot see, and it is a question for an estate attorney in your state.

Part of: What makes a will valid where you live →

Related calculators

Will Requirements

What each state’s probate code requires to execute a valid will: the minimum age, how many witnesses must sign, whether a notary is needed, whether handwritten wills count, and where electronic wills are authorised. Sortable, every cell cited to the statute and dated when it was read.

Electronic Wills

Which states authorise electronic wills, which have passed an act that has not started yet, and which authorise nothing. The distinction matters: a post-dated statute is not law today, and signing under one before its operative date relies on a rule that has not begun.

Change alerts — when a state revises the guideline or deadline behind this page

One email when the numbers change. Double opt-in, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.

🧭Will vs Trust Quiz