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Estate planning is a crucial step to ensuring that your assets are distributed according to your wishes after death. A revocable living trust is an effective way to avoid the complex and costly probate process.
What is a living trust?
A living trust is a legal arrangement that you create while you are alive. You name a trustee to manage the assets you transfer into it and a beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive the inheritance from it after your death. You can make the trust revocable or irrevocable. If you choose to make a revocable living trust, it can be changed or revoked at any time, in writing.
A Living Trust can help save estate taxes. It can avoid the probate process and eliminate the need for a conservatorship. It can also reduce the risk that your loved ones will blow their inheritance on bad investments or unnecessary expenses, such as vacations and cars. However, a Living Trust cannot completely prevent estate taxes because the assets remain subject to federal and state income tax laws. It can also protect the assets from creditors of the settlor, but only to a limited extent.
Why do I need a living trust?
If you want to avoid the probate process and ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes, a living trust is the right choice for you. A living trust can also be used to provide specific instructions to your family members or friends in the event of your incapacitation or death.
A living trust can be easily created by yourself or with the help of a document-making service, such as Nolo’s Quicken WillMaker. However, if your estate is larger than average and you have a variety of assets that will require specific attention to transfer, you may benefit from the services of an experienced Las Vegas estate planning lawyer.
If you choose to create a living trust, it is important to remember that the time period in which your assets become protected from creditor claims is very short. If you have significant debts when you die, creditors can seek claim to your assets.
How can a living trust help me?
Generally, assets transferred to a trust do not have to go through probate. This is a very important benefit that can save beneficiaries time and money.
The trustees you select can be family members or anyone of your choosing. In many cases, a living trust will help you avoid estate taxes as well.
Once a trust is set up, the attorney will assign someone to manage it (known as the “trustee”). During your lifetime, you will typically transfer all of your titled assets into the trust. Once you die, the trustee will distribute the trust property to your beneficiaries.
Having a will and a living trust are both essential components of a comprehensive estate plan. A qualified estate planning attorney can help you understand the different types of trusts and what might work best for your situation. Using Lead Counsel’s lawyer directory makes it easy to find experienced and reliable Las Vegas trusts lawyers near you. Each attorney profile includes client reviews, education, background, and other important information you can use to make an informed decision.
What are the benefits of a living trust?
A living trust can help you avoid probate and minimize taxes, keep information relating to your estate private, and make it easier for beneficiaries to manage assets after your death or incapacitation. However, a living trust cannot completely protect you against creditors or legal challenges.
Also, the assets that you transfer into a revocable living trust are not immediately protected from your creditors, so those debts could be settled before you pass away. You may also have to pay a fee to change property title and file other documents with your local government before your trust becomes effective.
Even though a living trust can save your family from costly, time-consuming probate, it is still a good idea to create a will as well. Without a will, your assets would be subject to state intestacy laws and may not be distributed according to your wishes. A skilled Las Vegas estate planning attorney can assist you in preparing both a living trust and will.