Getting a Living Trust: Most Loving Thing For Your Family
Getting a living trust is the most loving thing you can do for your family. Neglecting this can leave your family with unintended chaos.
Without a living trust, a legal process called probate takes over at death and freezes the assets of the deceased’s estate. Depending on the amount and the individual state limits, probate may be required in order to clear the hold on the estate assets.
Probate costs can be high. Probate fees begin by counting all assets of the deceased, even those encumbered by debt. The gross value of all assets form the basis of fees at a typical rate of 5-15% of the value. The attorney who takes the estate through the probate process will also charge their own fees.
What about a will?
The legal profession popularizes the idea that everyone should have a will. But a will is nothing more than instructions to the probate court. The process will still include probate, with all of its costs, delays, and heartaches.
The difference of a living trust
A living trust allows trust beneficiaries to immediately access the estate assets in the trust. It is nearly impossible to challenge, and it protects trust beneficiaries from creditor attachment to their inheritance.
The living trust also does not require an attorney to establish. It also gives privacy from public view.
The living trust can provide power of attorney for healthcare and business transactions, guardianship of minors, and appointment of conservatorship as well. The trust can be amended at any time unlike a will which must be newly drafted for any changes. You are in control of your assets within the living trust, as you were before placing them in it. You can provide direction of individual marital assets to children from a former marriage.
There is no downside. Instead, you protect your loved ones from being thrown into the chaos of probate at an already difficult time.