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The Benefits of a Revocable Living Trust

Estate planning is a critical aspect of financial management that often gets overlooked or postponed. One effective tool that individuals can use to ensure the seamless transfer of their assets and avoid probate-related challenges is a revocable living trust. 

You don’t have to be a millionaire to have a Trust, but you will feel like a millionaire when you have one.

Understanding Revocable Living Trusts
A revocable living trust, often simply referred to as a living trust, is a legal entity that individuals create during their lifetime to hold and manage their assets. This type of trust allows the individual (the grantor) to maintain control over their assets while alive and well, and also provides for the management in the event of incapacity or death. One of the primary benefits of a revocable living trust is the ability to avoid probate, which is a time-consuming and potentially expensive legal process.

Why You Should Have a Revocable Living Trust
Avoiding Probate: Probate is the court process to manage and distribute a deceased person’s assets. It can be a time-consuming and expensive, often causing delays in asset distribution and contention within the family.

A revocable living trust allows assets to be transferred to beneficiaries without going through probate, saving time, expenses and family arguments.

Privacy: Probate proceedings are a matter of public record, which means anyone can access information about your assets, debts, and beneficiaries. A living trust, being a private document, provides a level of confidentiality and ensures that your financial matters remain out of the public eye.

Incapacity Planning: A revocable living trust includes provisions for managing assets in case the grantor becomes incapacitated. This ensures a seamless transition of control without the need for court intervention, as would be required with only a power of attorney or conservatorship.

Flexibility and Control: The Trustmaker is able to modify or revoke the trust during their lifetime, providing flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. This control extends to how assets are managed and distributed after the Trustmaker’s passing.

Examples of assets that can go into a Living Trust:
*Real property
*Stocks and bonds
*Cash & investment accounts
*Money owed to Trustmaker
*Personal belongings
*Business interests

Examples of assets that may name the Living Trust as a beneficiary:
*Life insurance policies
*Retirement accounts
*Annuities
*POD or TOD assets