3 Reasons to Establish a Revocable Living Trust

Estate planning tools offer unique and useful benefits. Wills provide a way to distribute a person’s estate after their death. Trusts, including revocable living trusts, provide another way for individuals to accomplish their estate planning goals. Before deciding to establish a revocable living trust, consider why you might want to use a revocable living trust.

Incapacity

Unlike a Last Will and Testament, a revocable living trust addresses the settlor’s potential incapacity.

For example, Jonah prepared and executed a Will many years ago. When he dies, his family and executor will know how he wanted his property to be distributed. However, Jonah recently suffered a serious stroke and is now incapacitated. His property is in limbo until a guardian is appointed by the court. If he had established a revocable living trust, he could have used his property to fund the trust. Then, he could have named a successor trustee to take over management of the trust in the event he became incapacitated.

Privacy

When you establish a revocable living trust, you provide your estate with a layer of privacy that Wills do not offer. Wills become public record when submitted for probate. On the other hand, though, trusts generally are not filed with a court. This means the details of your probate estate – including what property you owned and who ended up with it – remain confidential.

Probate Avoidance

When someone dies, their assets have to go somewhere. A decedent’s property becomes part of their probate estate unless it:

• Passes through beneficiary designations,
• Is jointly owned with a right of survivorship, or
• Other arrangements have been made to legally transfer it to new owners.

Probate can be complicated, time consuming, and expensive. Rather than put your family through the stress of probate, why not establish a revocable living trust now? Trust assets can be transferred quickly and efficiently to heirs, unlike passing them through probate.

Do You Know Whether to Establish a Revocable Living Trust or Not?

Talk to an attorney about revocable living trusts. As a Florida attorney board certified in Wills, Trusts & Estates, Attorney John Mangan offers effective estate planning to his clients. To schedule an appointment, call us at 772-324-9050 or fill out our Contact Form. Our office is conveniently located in Palm City, Florida.