A Living Trust Protects Your Loved Ones From Probate!

A living trust is a legal document used in estate planning that allows you to designate
who will manage your assets while you are alive, and who will inherit them after your
death, essentially bypassing the probate court process and enabling a smoother
distribution of your property to beneficiaries upon your passing; it essentially gives you
control over your assets even if you become incapacitated.

What is a Living Trust?

Living trusts can be an essential part of a robust estate plan. They allow you to safeguard your assets so they can be managed and distributed when and how you’d like. Depending on the type of living trust you have — revocable or irrevocable (see below for more on these) — you can manage and change the trust yourself if you designate yourself as the trustee during your lifetime (you can also designate someone else as the trustee while you are alive), or the trust will be managed by the trustee you appoint upon your death.

With a revocable trust, you can name a trustee to manage the assets and property in the trust should you become sick or incapacitated. With an irrevocable trust, the terms cannot be changed, and the trustee will distribute the assets according to your wishes once you pass.


Here are the general steps to consider when creating a living trust:


  • Determine whether you’d like to remain in control of the account or if you’d like to have another party, like an estate planning lawyer, manage it for you as your trustee.
  • Assign a single beneficiary designation, such as your surviving spouse or family member, or multiple beneficiaries, who will receive your assets at a preplanned time.
  • Open a trust account and transfer money or property into it. At the time you’ve chosen, whether it’s at your death or sometime before, the trustee will distribute these assets to your beneficiaries.

How Does a Living Trust Work?

While living trusts can hold any number of assets, some are more appropriate for funding your
trust than others:


  • Financial accounts like cash and bank accounts
  • Investment accounts that are not part of your retirement plan
  • Stocks and bond certificates
  • Personal property, like jewelry, electronics, artwork, collectibles, and others
  • Vehicles, pets, livestock, and farm equipment
  • Businesses or organizations
  • Land or real estate


Some things are not allowed to be transferred from person to person without going through the
formal probate process. Check with your state’s guidelines to make sure your trust assets meet
regulations.

What Should You Put In a Living Trust?

Living trusts typically take one of two forms: revocable living trusts and irrevocable living trusts.


Revocable living trust

A revocable living trust allows the grantor to designate themself as the trustee, giving them full
control of the assets being kept within their revocable trust. What makes revocable living trusts
appealing is the flexibility they offer. The grantor can cancel or amend this type of trust.


Irrevocable living trust

With an irrevocable living trust, the grantor names an outside trustee to control the account, as
opposed to naming themselves. This type of trust is different from a revocable trust in that once
the account is handed over to the trustee, the grantor is no longer the legal owner of the trust
or its assets. Once created, the grantor cannot change or cancel irrevocable living trusts.

Types of Living Trusts


    • 1. Avoiding Probate: One of the primary advantages of a revocable living trust is that it can help to avoid the probate process,
      which can be lengthy, costly, and public. Assets in the trust can pass to beneficiaries without the need for court intervention.
      Keep in mind that if you just have a Will in place your estate will likely have to go through some form of Probate.
    • 2. Privacy: A living trust can be a private document and is not part of the public record, unlike a will that becomes public after
      being submitted to probate court. There is no trust lookup California such as a registered directory of trusts.
    • 3. Flexibility: A revocable living trust is flexible and can be changed or revoked by the grantor at any time while they are alive
      and have the legal capacity to make decisions. This allows the grantor to adapt the trust to their changing circumstances,
      such as changes in family or financial situations.
    • 4. Control: With a living trust, the grantor can maintain control over the grantor’s estate while alive, appointing themselves or
      another individual as the trustee to manage the assets according to their wishes. Upon their disability or death they can state
      what how they would like their successor trustee to manage the trust account

5. Disability planning: A living trust can also provide for the management of the grantor’s assets in the event of their
incapacity or disability.

5 Benefits of a Living Trust

Protect Your Legacy, Get Started TODAY!

Get in touch with the person
who referred you to this page
and get started today!

Designed with