On his podcast, Clark Howard answers real reader questions on money, credit, debt, retirement, travel, and more, along with co-host Christa DiBiase.

Clark's answer: This is such an interesting question because Vanguard has different tiers within their Personal Advisor services. If you reach a certain asset threshold, you qualify for access to in-house estate planning attorneys who collaborate directly with your Vanguard financial planner to evaluate your situation, determine if you need trusts, and identify what types of trusts would be appropriate. Most often, what actually happens at those asset levels is that Vanguard's attorneys will review documents drafted by an independent outside attorney who specializes in wills, estates, and trusts, and then recommend adjustments better suited for Vanguard’s low-cost investing environment.

A lot of conventional trust work ends up routing clients into high-fee arrangements at expensive trust companies, which runs completely counter to Vanguard’s low-cost philosophy. Because of that, I wouldn’t recommend relying on Vanguard as your sole source for legal drafting and estate execution. However, using an outside estate planning specialist and Vanguard in tandem — having Vanguard review the plans through their low-cost lens — is an interesting approach.