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Living Trusts
Their number one purpose is to avoid Probate! |
Here me again in a Loud and Clear Voice! Living Trusts are NOT just for the Wealthy!
Living Trusts aka Revocable Trusts are really designed to meet one primary need - Probate Avoidance.
Probate is the legal process exercised in and by the courts to authenticate the Will of a deceased person. Probate is a process, and it can be lengthy, time consuming, and actually quite expensive.
Living Trusts are established by families who generally have a desire to spare their heirs involvement in the aforementioned process.
It works like this; you set up your Revocable Living Trust to hold and Own all of your personal assets. You do this because when you die with no assets there will be nothing to probate. Many people at this point say, “hey I have spent my whole life building these assets, I am not giving up control of anything!”
Actually, you will give up control of nothing, except perhaps how the asset is titled. When the trust is established you will be the Trustee of the Trust. Loose translation; you are the still the boss! The Trustee is in charge of the trust and all of its assets.
You will also establish what is known of as a successor Trustee. The Successor Trustee is just what it sounds like, the successor of the original Trustee after the Original Trustee Dies or becomes completely incapacitated.
The Successor Trustee is then obliged to honor the terms of the Will established as part of the trust and distribute assets accordingly.
Good Trust packages can be purchased for a wide range of prices and should typically come with Health Care powers of Attorney, General Powers of Attorney, Living Will(s), and be able to meet various other needs such as Special Needs of a disabled child for instance. |
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