How Do Living Trusts Work?

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When you set up a trust, it is recommended that you do so with the help of an experienced estate planning lawyer. An estate planning lawyer can assist you with determining your individual estate planning goals and how these connect to the type of trust you select.

When you choose a living or revocable trust, this gives you flexibility over your future use of this estate planning vehicle. When you put assets inside a living trust, you continue to access those assets as needed. You can select an appointed person known as a trustee to serve as the manager of your revocable trust if you become unable to manage your affairs or if you pass away. The trustee would then follow any terms you have already outlined in the trust document.

Assets that are named and then funded into your living trust, meaning they have been retitled into the trust management, are distributed to your beneficiaries according to your wishes. Usually this is done without having to go through probate and that is one of the biggest advantages of using a living trust. The probate process can be costly and time intensive.

When you choose a revocable living trust, the distribution of your assets from that trust is kept private. This is most helpful if you have people in your life from whom you would like to shield the details related to your estate. Talk to your estate planning lawyer about the opportunities available with using a living trust to your benefit. A NH estate planning lawyer can guide you through the important questions of what to consider.

 

 

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Why Is A Living Trust An Important Part Of Your Financial Planning?

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After you pass away, you may still want to have some level of control over your finances so that you know that your family is protected as well as financially stable. A leading estate planning document for accomplishing this goal is a living trust. There are many different benefits of using a living trust, but the first is that it allows a great deal of flexibility and control. living trust

In a revocable living trust, you can also appoint yourself as the primary trustee while you’re still alive. This means you can make changes to or revoke the trust entirely, a level of flexibility that is not afforded with an irrevocable living trust. A revocable living trust also allows you to appoint someone else after you have passed away to handle the responsibility of administering these assets. Some of the other benefits of using a living trust include:

  • Appointing someone responsible to manage your property, assets and money.
  • Avoiding the probate process and keeping these matters private.
  • Allowing this property to transfer more quickly so that your family has the ability to pay for critical expenses, like outstanding debts, mortgage payments and medical expenses.

You always want to know when selecting any estate planning tool that it’s the right one for your needs.

For more information about how to use a living trust and how to get started with creating one today, contact an estate planning lawyer for more details. Our NH and Maine estate planners can walk you through what to know when thinking about using a living trust.

 

 

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Should I Put Real Estate into A Living Trust?

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Many people have questions about both the creation of a living trust and the kinds of assets that should be placed inside it. One key question you might wish to ask your estate planning lawyer is, should I put real estate inside my living trust.real estate

There is a good chance that your primary home is one of your biggest assets, which can be beneficial from the perspective of creating a living trust since you can transfer real estate quickly. This is in fact a leading reason to create a living trust in the first place because you are concerned about the time consuming and expensive process of probate and want to allow your loved ones to avoid it.

Putting real estate into a living trust avoids the problems associated with separating probate proceedings for commercial properties, homes and land that are held in different counties or out of state. Remember that in the event that there is a mortgage on the piece of property, this would require refinancing into the name of the trust and not all lenders are open to doing this.

Living trusts are great estate planning tools for plenty of people, but they are not always the right fit. Discuss your options with an attorney to ensure you select the right planning tool for your needs.

Schedule a consultation with your estate planning lawyer to discuss the different kinds of real estate you own and whether or not it makes sense to place it inside a trust. Call a NH estate planning lawyer for further help.

 

 

What Are the Limitations with Living Trusts?

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Living trusts are some of the most popular types of trusts used by a grantor or the person who creates them to accomplish estate planning goals. There are many different advantages associated with living trusts including privacy during situations in which the state demands an inventory of asset filing, easy succession of trustees, the elimination of delays associated with probate, end of life provisions as desired by the grantor and protection against incapacity of the beneficiaries or the grantors.

However, before deciding whether or not a living trust is right for you, you’ll want to discuss any concerns you have with your estate planning attorney in your area. Living trusts do have a few different limitations to be aware of, including the titling of property. Certain types of real estate property, for example, should be included from a trust depending on your location.

Creditor claims are important to consider since most living trusts do not provide protection from claims that are made by creditors since the grantor of the trust is considered to also be the owner of the trust assets, thereby keeping a close enough connection in ownership that a creditor could make a claim against assets inside it.

Finally, there are tax implications for living trusts such that all income earned by the trust is taxable to the grantor’s personal tax return as if the property had never been transferred to the trust. To learn more about some of the pros and cons of using living trusts or other tools, set up a time to speak with an estate planning lawyer.