I am doing some research on this recently and based on my preliminary reading, you don’t need living trust at all.
You don’t need and sometimes cannot put retirement savings in the living trust, naming a beneficiary will allow the money to be transferred at death without probate. The only reason to put the retirement fund into trust is to form an AB trust, but you don’t have enough assets to do so.
Brokerage account can be held in joint accounts, unless for the unlikely event that both you and your wife die at the same time.
For term life insurance, the beneficiary can also receive the proceeds outside of probate. Again, you only need trust if you and your wife die at the same time and the proceed cannot be paid until your children became legal adults (i.e. naming a trustee becomes necessary).
Home equity is the only thing worth protecting in your case. And $1,000 for $50,000 is really an unfavorable odd, unless you are planning some extreme risky activities in the near term.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and cannot offer legal advice.
