Why Would I Need a Living Trust?
Have you made any plans to distribute your assets and take care of your family, when you die or become incapacitated?
Have you made any plans to distribute your assets and take care of your family, when you die or become incapacitated?
Early in 2021, you should communicate with your advisers and review several items about your 2020 planning, if that planning is to have any likelihood of succeeding.
Done right by a lawyer, your heirs can avoid the expense and time of probating your will and may save on estate taxes, while easing the administration of your affairs while alive and after you have gone.
Has a family member or close friend asked you to serve as their executor, trustee or power of attorney? If you accepted the responsibility, do you know what this entails? Have you been given a copy of the documents you were named under? Do you know when you would begin serving in these roles? These are all important questions to ask or consider.
A trustee is a manager of assets in a trust. The grantor creates the trust and appoints the trustee. A trustee has a ‘fiduciary duty’ to serve the grantor and not benefit personally.
When creating an estate plan, it may be necessary to name a trustee to handle your assets.
If you decide to leave assets in a trust for your beneficiaries, consider your designation of trustee carefully. The most important person in the trust framework is the trustee, the one responsible for managing trust assets.
A revocable trust is great for many reasons, but it does NOT protect assets from nursing home expenses.
It is also important to realize that it isn’t merely “why” you are updating your will, but “when” you are updating that can make all the difference. Acting too late (or too early) may mean your changes are no longer appropriate or even immediately invalidated.
Trusts are legal entities that own assets, and all trusts are not alike. They are created by a written trust document with certain provisions that can vary from trust to trust.
Copyright © Huizenga Law Firm, P.C. All rights reserved. Some artwork provided under license agreement.