From among the many questions clustered in our mailbox, here's one from a reader with pets at heart.

I'm widowed with no kids and no home (I sold it and now rent). I want to leave all my property – about $500,000 – to animal charities, like PETA and the SPCA. I've been told that because I don't have a home or heirs, I don't need a living trust. But I've also been told that if I leave only a will and name an executor, there's no guarantee that person will execute my wishes.

This should be such a simple, straightforward situation, but I'm uncertain. Do I need a trust or not?

– Ann B., Sacramento

Good question. As with lots of legal quandaries, there's no surefire answer. It all depends on your comfort level and how much you want to spend.

Gina Lera, an estate planning specialist with Downey Brand LLP, said both a simple will and a living trust essentially yield the same result: carrying out your charitable wishes. But the difference is in cost and execution.

With a will, you'll pay very little now but a good chunk of your assets will be chewed up in probate costs after you're gone. In California, any estate valued at more than $100,000 must go through probate court to distribute the assets, unless it's in a trust.

Based on probate costs in California, your estate would be required to fork over about $13,000 apiece in fees to an attorney and the executor.

That's $26,000 less to help the animals.

With a trust, you'll pay more now to set it up – anywhere from $750 to $2,500 depending on how complicated – but you'll completely eliminate thousands in probate costs.

As Lera put it: The trust is more expensive to do now, "but it's nothing compared to the cost of probate."

But as she noted, there's a distinct advantage to probate: The executor's actions in distributing your financial assets are overseen by the probate court, which will ensure that your designated charities get what you want them to get.

With a trust, the trustee is legally required to do so, but there's no court looking over his/her shoulder. However, she said it's rare for trustees or executors to abuse their duties. Her advice: Go with a trust.

And for peace of mind, be selective in choosing whom you want to oversee your estate, whether it's in a will or a living trust.

But there's also a third option to consider: Make each charity a beneficiary. Take each of your assets – whether it's a checking account, stocks, a mutual fund or a life insurance policy – and designate the charity as the beneficiary. Upon your death, each account would go straight to the SPCA or whichever organization you've named.

"It's the cheapest solution," said John Shyer, a Sacramento attorney experienced in estate planning. He says that route requires more time and paperwork on your part, but saves the most in the long run.

To do so, contact each of your designated charities and explain your intent. Find out exactly how they want to be named. Then contact every financial institution – your bank, stock brokerage, etc. – to be sure each account is titled with a specific charity as the beneficiary. Doing so, he said, will avoid probate and the need for a trust.

"It avoids an executor, a trustee and becomes strictly a contractual arrangement," he said.

One caution: Shyer said it's wise to be sure there aren't any long-lost relatives who might pop up, wanting to get their paws on your property.

"They can make a claim … as a 'forgotten heir' and ask for a share of her estate, unless she specifically disinherits them in either her will or her trust."

For more questions and answers on estate planning and other financial topics, see Monday's business section with our weekly roundup of "Ask the Experts." It's where we offer the latest online advice taken from www.sacbee.com/ask – by local experts in financial planning, wills/estates, taxes and investments.

Have a personal finance question? The Bee's Claudia Buck can help find you answers. She can be reached at (916) 321-1968 or via The Sacramento Bee; P.O. Box 15779; Sacramento, CA 95852.