Estate Planning Lawyer

Diversifying your estate plan creates more opportunities for your family to get the inheritance you intend. With estate taxes, fees, and probate looming after death, they may have to wait many months to get a portion of what you expected to leave them. Speaking with someone about utilizing various methods to keep your property safe is the first step to providing for your family long after you are gone. One tool that is quite effective in achieving this is a revocable living trust. Get some basic facts about what it is and how it can work for you.

The Mainstays of a Revocable Living Trust 

The name may sound complicated, but a revocable living trust is far from it. A living trust is an account you create while alive that holds property and assets that pass on to a grantee upon your death. It is one way you can dole out items in your estate without having to bog anyone down in probate. The trust includes things like:

• Personal items
• Investment accounts
• Cash
• Real estate property

The term “revocable” means you can change the contents of the trust at any time. You can withdraw or add to it throughout your lifetime.

Benefits of a Living Trust

There are quite a few reasons lawyers and financial planners suggest living trusts. First, they take property and cash out of your name and place them into an account for the designation of someone else. This means they are subtracted from your income and worth, reducing your income taxes. Since they are withdrawn from your possession, they are also no longer a part of your estate plan and do not have to go through probate before disbursement. Remember, you will face tax liabilities on anything removed from the trust.

The Process of Disbursement After Death

When you create a trust, you create a safe haven for assets to remain until the time comes for disbursement. When you die, the grantee of the trust — also known as the beneficiary — immediately assumes the trust and its contents. You may name whomever you choose as a grantee. You can even have more than one grantee. Much like a life insurance policy with a beneficiary designation, a trust only needs legal documentation of your death to transfer according to what you have designated.

Anyone with assets can create a revocable living trust. Get the help you need from an estate planning lawyer, like an estate planning lawyer, so you can better secure your family’s future.