Finance and Law

What Are the Benefits of a Living Trust?

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Do you own assets that you wish to eventually pass down <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wikihow&period;com&sol;Choose-a-Beneficiary" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">to your heirs<&sol;a>&quest; Are you looking for the right approach to hand over these assets&quest;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">You should consider the benefits of a <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;newsforpublic&period;com&sol;living-will-vs-living-trust-whats-difference&sol;">living trust<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">This is a legal structure that holds your assets in a trust during your life&period; You have control over this trust and can make changes as you please&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Upon your death&comma; these assets get transferred to your heirs&period; You choose your heirs and your distribution plan&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s one of the easiest legal structures to start and manage your assets&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Here&&num;8217&semi;s why you need to consider a living trust&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">No Probate<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">One of the main reasons why someone chooses a living trust is <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;frameandframelaw&period;com&sol;if-my-loved-one-has-a-will-do-i-have-to-go-through-probate&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">to avoid probate<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Probate refers to the process of distributing the deceased person&&num;8217&semi;s assets under court supervision&period; This is one of the most stressful and inefficient ways of distributing assets&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It can take months and cost exorbitant legal fees&period; It can also lead to your heirs not getting what you wish to bequeath to them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">A living trust puts more responsibility and freedom in your hands&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s a far more efficient process than having to go through the court system&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It&&num;8217&semi;s Private<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Another great reason for considering a living trust is because it&&num;8217&semi;s a private transaction&period; The details of the living trust remain between you&comma; your heirs&comma; and your attorney&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">A living trust is <em>not <&sol;em>a public record&period; As such&comma; a private citizen cannot research your assets and who your heirs are&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The alternative to a living trust is a will which is <em>always <&sol;em>a public record&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It&&num;8217&semi;s Cost-Effective<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">When someone dies&comma; their estate inherits their assets&comma; and often&comma; inherits their debts&period; There&&num;8217&semi;s always the possibility that your assets will get contested&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Your estate might have to enter legal battles which will become costly&period; The asset distribution might not go the way you expect&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">A living trust might cost more upfront than creating a Last Will and Testament&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s a more complex document and requires more action on your part&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Any time you wish to make changes&comma; you&&num;8217&semi;ll likely have to spend more to engage your attorney&&num;8217&semi;s services&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Nevertheless&comma; the money you pay now avoids future financial complications with your estate&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s best to make the investment now than pay dearly at a later stage&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It Helps in Emergency Situations<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">What happens if you were injured or incapacitated&quest; Who would handle your assets then&quest;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">With a living trust&comma; you can appoint a successor trustee&period; They will manage your living trust without needing the supervision of a court&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">A living trust is also revocable&period; If a successor trustee decides against your will&comma; you can always alter the living trust&period; At any given time&comma; you can also cancel the living trust&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It Provides Certainty<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">One of the reasons why we deal with such legal structures is to find certainty&period; Living trusts are one of the few legal structures that provide great certainty for asset holders and their heirs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">You can have the certainty that your assets will get protected from bad actors&period; You can make sure that you clearly define who your heirs are&period; You&&num;8217&semi;ll also choose the specific assets and your distribution plan in your living trust&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Because the living trust is revocable&comma; you also have the certainty that you can make changes when needed&period; If you aren&&num;8217&semi;t happy with your living trust&comma; you can cancel it and start over&period; This certainty is what attracts many people to manage their estates with living trusts&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It also provides certainty for your heirs&comma; who know what they&&num;8217&semi;ll receive&period; It takes away the potential stress of having to battle in a court over your estate&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Assets Remain in the Family<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If you pass on your assets to your children&comma; you want to make sure they get to keep them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Let&&num;8217&semi;s suppose your child marries someone and then gets a divorce&period; In many situations&comma; the spouse might win over the assets in a court battle&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">However&comma; a living trust automatically negates this situation&period; With a living trust&comma; you can ensure that assets remain with biological children&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It can prevent the transfer of these assets to non-biological family members or any other outsider&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It&&num;8217&semi;s Great for Minors<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Do you have children who are currently minors&quest; You want to make sure that assets are given to them when they are adults&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">You can keep these assets in a living trust&period; Your children can keep an eye on these assets but cannot access them until they become adults&period; Once they become adults&comma; you can transfer the assets to them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">A &&num;8220&semi;trust fund&&num;8221&semi; is a perfect example of a living trust&period; This refers to monies that you want to give to your children when they become responsible&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">What&&num;8217&semi;s great about a living trust&comma; is that you can distribute it to your liking&period; For example&comma; let&&num;8217&semi;s suppose you wish to bequeath &dollar;100K to your child&period; You might give &dollar;10K when they turn 18&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Then as the child gets older and proves financial responsibility&comma; you will distribute the remainder of the funds to them as you please&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">You Might Reduce Estate Taxes<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The laws vary based on your area&comma; but living trusts are often a great way to reduce estate taxes&period; If you speak to your attorney&comma; you can figure out how to organize your living trust to reduce estate taxes upon your death&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">This takes away the burden from your estate and your heirs&period; This is another major reason why people choose living trusts&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">With a Last Will and Testament&comma; an estate tax is a major hindrance that your heirs will have to bear&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Those Are the Benefits of a Living Trust<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Now that you know the benefits of a living trust&comma; you should consider preparing one for your assets&period; While it can be a bit complex&comma; the freedom and peace of mind you&&num;8217&semi;ll get makes it worth every penny&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Start by preparing a list of your assets and then consult with an attorney&period; Make sure you discuss your assets with your heirs&period; Let them know beforehand what you wish to bequeath to them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Once you&&num;8217&semi;ve planned your blueprint with them&comma; you can prepare your living trust&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">You can also find other great legal tips on our website&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

Hardik Patel

Hardik Patel is a Digital Marketing Consultant and professional Blogger. He has 16+ years experience in SEO, SMO, SEM, Online reputation management, Affiliated Marketing and Content Marketing.

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