Four Reasons You Might Want A Revocable Living Trust
If you've been considering establishing an estate plan to help simplify things for your loved ones in the event of your death, you might want to consider a revocable living trust. If you're not familiar with these, you may be surprised to find that they offer many benefits from the planning perspective. Here's a look at some of the reasons why you might want to consider a trust like this.
You Can Avoid The Probate Process
In most cases, estates have to go through probate. The process can be lengthy, taking several years in some situations. When you put your estate into a revocable living trust, those assets will transfer directly from the trust to your beneficiary, which means that there's no privately-held estate of yours to put through probate.
You Won't Have A Public Property Disclosure
By placing all of your assets into a revocable living trust, those assets are bound within a trust agreement between the involved parties. The trust index will clearly define all of the property that is included. As long as all of those assets are properly titled into the trust's ownership, there's no requirement to publicly disclose asset transfers as there would be during the probate process. This helps to ensure that your trust recipients will receive their inheritance privately.
The Transition Will Be Easier
By using the revocable living trust for your estate, you simplify the claim process for your beneficiaries. This means that they can transition the assets into their ownership much easier and without much of the paperwork that's traditionally required. In addition, you can even set up accounts that are classified as "payable-on-death" to make the process even easier. With those accounts, all your beneficiaries need to do is present a death certificate for the accounts to transfer immediately.
You May Be Able To Reduce The Estate Tax
When it comes to the estate tax, you can maximize your deduction by using a revocable living trust. This will help you to avoid having the estate tax imposed twice - once on your surviving spouse and once on your beneficiaries. If you put the estate assets into a living trust, it will help you to keep your estate value below the estate tax thresholds, which may allow your beneficiaries to get more from your estate when you do pass away.
These are a few common reasons why you should talk with your attorney about a revocable living trust. Consider the advantages and evaluate your estate realistically to see if this could help you. For more information, contact companies like Seiler & Parker PC.