A trust is a trust is a trust is not a true statement. There are many different types of trusts available for a wide variety of needs. These are generally created specifically for different needs and carry different approaches to helping you solve the issue you need addressed. The short story is that there is no “optimal” trust but a given trust can be “optimal” for a particular given situation.
If you do a search on the internet you will find hundreds of pages talking trusts. Many types of trusts exist and there are many articles for each type. While the articles are generally designed to give you more insights they can often times be misleading. A big reason for this is that they generally are using an example of a particular situation that might not be exactly your situation so a particular trust might not be the right answer.
Many of these trusts have impressive sounding names and seem like they could be exactly what you need. People can get confused by this, if they are not sure which type of trust is the best one. The best rule of thumb is to meet with a qualified attorney who understands the different types of trusts and see which one would be the best fit for your particular situation.
Thinking there is an absolute best trust is not the right way to think about trusts, as Kiplinger discusses in "What Type of Trust Solution is Best for You?"
The best way to think about identifying the best trust for your needs is to first determine why you want a trust. What do you want the trust to do? For example, do you want a trust primarily for tax reasons, or do you want a trust primarily to make sure your minor children are financially secure, if something happens to you? There are many different needs and being able to be as specific as possible as to your wishes is a great place to start with your attorney.
Be prepared for the meeting with your attorney. Make sure you can clearly communicate your wishes and desires so there is as much clarity as possible. Once your attorney clearly understands what you want to accomplish in the short and long term for you and your loved ones, the right strategy can be designed using the right trust. This is what makes a trust “optimal”…when it is tailored to give you exactly what you desire.