Is a Living Trust for You?
In Conclusion
Single
people can benefit from having a living trust, but they
may not be right for everyone. While they eliminate probate
or conservatorship and their possible challenges and difficulties,
establishing a living trust will require careful planning.
A grantor who establishes a new living trust will need to prepare
a new "pour over will"
to go along with the trust agreement. The person creating the
trust will need to change title on all of the assets to be placed
in the living trust, and change any existing life insurance
policies to name the trust as beneficiary.
Thoughtful planning and naming of successor trustees is also
required. Since the trust will pass to the new trustee only
when the original grantor has died or become incapacitated,
this often comes at a sorrowful, traumatic time, especially
if the successor
trustee is a relative. The successor trustee will have many
obligations in administering
the trust when it is assigned to them. These duties include
determining the fair market value of all the assets and reassigning
all their titles to reflect the name of the person to whom the
asset
is to be distributed, which can be onerous tasks.
The list of assets contained in a trust should also be maintained
during the life of the grantor. Doing so will make the successor
trustee's job easier when he or she assumes responsibility
for the trust and needs to determine their fair market value.
Establishing a living trust will save your beneficiaries months
or years of agony in the probate court system, and tens of thousands
of dollars in statutory probate fees. If taking advantage of
these benefits interests you, you should carefully consider
contacting an estate
planning attorney to discuss the possibility of creating
a living trust for your assets.
For additional information, please contact THE MAMOLA LAW FIRM at (800) 440-5294.
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