The Difference Between A Will And A Trust
Let’s start with the basics. When you use a Will to pass on your estate, you typically make provisions for your spouse, children, or others, and might even leave assets to a trust that dictates when and how distributions are made.
You can choose to leave an inheritance outright, giving immediate ownership to the recipient, or you can create a “testamentary trust” within your Will, which sets conditions for when the beneficiary can receive their inheritance. Testamentary trust provisions are included in your Will and take effect after your death.
Will Plan
With a Will Plan, all your assets—such as your home, real estate, and investments—remain in your name. After your death, your assets are frozen, and despite having a Will, your survivors must navigate the court-supervised probate process to transfer assets to those named in your Will. This can involve time and legal fees.
Living Trust
A Living Trust is designed to transfer your estate, or parts of it, to designated beneficiaries after you pass away. By transferring assets to your Living Trust, such as your home and investments, you can avoid probate, making it easier for beneficiaries to receive their inheritance and reducing the expense and delay of settling your estate.
What’s the Bottom Line?
Some people prefer the simplicity of a Will Plan, despite the need for a potentially costly and lengthy probate process. Others choose a Living Trust to avoid probate altogether. Ultimately, the key is to prepare your estate plan and take action. Without it, the government will have complete control over your estate.
Answers to your questions
Yes. Origin offers partner access so you can manage your finances together at no additional cost. You’ll be able to filter transactions by member—making it easy to see which spending is yours and which belongs to your partner.
Yes. You can edit existing transactions and add new ones directly in Origin, so your records stay accurate and personalized.
Origin connects securely through trusted partners including Plaid, MX, and Mastercard.
Yes. Origin supports CSV uploads. You can upload a .csv file of your transactions, and we’ll import them into your account.
Yes. Your data is protected with bank-level security and advanced encryption. When you connect accounts through Origin, your login credentials are never shared with us. Instead, our partners generate secure tokens that let Origin access only the data you authorize—keeping your personal information private while enabling personalized insights.
Yes. You have full control to organize your spending in Origin. Transactions are automatically categorized by Origin, but you can always edit categories, add your own tags, and filter transactions however you like—so your spending reflects the way you actually manage money.
