A will and a living trust both can be very important in your estate plan. However, a living trust doesn’t require probate to transfer your assets.
KYT24’s recent article entitled “Fundamentals Of A Living Trust” explains that everyone who owns a home and/or other assets should have a will or a living trust. Proper estate planning can protect your family from unnecessary court costs and delay, if you become incapacitated, disabled, or die.
With a living trust, you can avoid all probate delays and related costs and make life much simpler for your family in a crisis. If you pass away, your spouse will be able to automatically and immediately continue without any delay or unnecessary expense.
When you and your spouse both die, your assets will also transfer directly to your beneficiaries.
Living trusts can save time, expense and stress for your loved ones. Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney about creating a living trust.
A trust agreement, being a legal document, must be written by an experienced estate planning attorney who has the knowledge and experience to prepare such a legal document to cover all of your needs and desires. If not properly and completely drafted, you run the risk of issues after you’re gone for your family.
After your attorney drafts your living trust, you must fund the trust, by titling or adding assets to it. If assets aren’t titled to or otherwise connected to your trust agreement, they won’t be legally part of the trust.
This totally defeats the purpose of drafting your living trust agreement in the first place.
It’s a common mistake to fail to fund a trust, which can happen as a result of poor follow through after signing the trust.
Work with an experienced estate planning attorney to complete a living trust and your entire estate plan. This includes a thorough review of your goals and objectives, as well as reviewing all estate assets to complete the funding of your trust, by transferring assets into the name of the living trust.
One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like your plan for safe, problem free, and successful transfer of assets to the next generation. Call our office today to schedule a time for us to review your estate plan and identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security. Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.
For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, trust law, and business planning, please visit our website and subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter.
Reference: KYT24 (Nov. 14, 2020) “Fundamentals Of A Living Trust”
