A properly drafted living trust generally costs several times what a Will generally costs upfront and over your lifetime. Thus, the reason you will see most people choose a simple Will in NJ over a Will and Living Trust.  Not only could a Will save you thousands of dollars, in many instances in can accomplish the same task, transferring your money estate tax free to your loved ones.

1) You can easily pay $5,000.00 or even 15,000.00 for a properly drafted living trust vs. a Will could cost less than $1,000.00
2) Most people will leave their money to an exempt person under the NJ inheritance tax law such as:

• Surviving spouses
• Surviving domestic or civil partners
• Children and subsequent direct descendants (grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.)
• Parents and other direct ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.)
• Step-children (but not subsequent step-descendants)

3) Although a Will may have to go through probate. Probate in NJ unlike other states is a really simple and streamlined process.
Changing all your assets into the trusts name and then changing to the beneficiaries name can cost a lot of time and money much more time and money than even probate. Probate for most people can be done in one visit to the probate office of the court.
Sure you may have to wait for a tax clearance and probate letters (generally takes a few weeks) but it can be easier to do this then to prove and get documents to the bank that you are the proper grantor/grantee of the trusts assets.
4) You still may need a will anyway:
A living trust can’t address everything, such as naming a guardian for minor children, a will is always needed to address any assets that didn’t get transferred into the living trust before death such as a new car or expensive jewelry and thus you may go to probate anyway. Thus, a will is still needed even in many situations where there is a living trust.
5) With a living trust you will need to file a tax return for the trust each year causing upfront expenses.

6) Your Will can include an optional Simple Trust:  If you have a beneficiary who is under the age of 18 by law someone who is under the age of 18 cannot inherit money. But a simple trust can solve this problem.  A Simple Trust can cost less than $1,000.00 thus saving you thousands less than having a living trust drafted for you.