What is a living trust?
Living trusts can offer a certain amount of freedom that you may not have when drafting a will.
March 20, 2013
What is a living trust?Article provided by Criss & Kraft LLP
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Making decisions about your estate should not be taken lightly. When planning how to divide your assets, you may decide to have a will drafted, or, in some cases, it may be best to create a living trust. Although living trust and wills do share some similarities, experts say that living trusts can offer a certain amount of freedom that you may not have when drafting a will.
The benefits of a living trust
There are a number of benefits for having a living trust, including the following.
You bypass probate. Generally, a will has to go through probate, meaning that the court distributes property to heirs and makes payments on any debts owed by the estate. This can be a time consuming process, as well as a costly one. But with a living trust, heirs will receive the property that you leave them immediately after you have passed. In addition, they will receive every penny you intended to be theirs because the property will not be used to pay off debts and they will not have to spend money on court proceedings.
You protect your privacy. Because probate hearings are part of the public record, after a will has been through probate a family's personal business can be accessible to anyone willing to make the effort to access that information. Since there is no probate involved in a living trust, the decisions that you make will not become part of the public record, so you can keep your financial matters private between you and your heirs.
You maintain control. When you create a living trust, it is revocable, which means that you can make changes to it at any time, as long as you are considered mentally competent. In addition, you can, at your discretion, make provisions to the trust that outline how heirs can spend the money they inherit. You can also mandate certain actions from your heirs, such as stipulating that they must do things like graduate college or get married before they are able to receive the money that you have left them.
Get help with estate planning
If you need advice on a living trust or will, or any other estate planning matter, contact a qualified attorney for help. In order to make sure that your wishes are communicated properly, and carried out the way you want them to be, it is best to get legal help so that you can navigate the system and provide for your heirs the way you want to.