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Revocable-living-trust.net was developed to educate the public about their estate planning options for when it comes time to prepare a will, power of attorney, living will and a revocable living trust. There are many important steps in order to prepare a proper revocable living trust. If you have thought about creating a trust, will, power of attorney and living will, then we strongly encourage you to go through our site very carefully.

There are many names given to the Revocable Living Trust. Revocable simply means that the trust can be changed at any time. When referring to the revocable living trust, you will hear people use terms such as family trust, living trust, grantors trust or simply a trust. However, for our discussion since there are many types of trusts, we will be speaking only about a revocable living trust, which is the most commonly prepared trust for estate planning purposes.

Why a Revocable Living Trust is Important:

As you may know, a revocable living trust is a solid financial decision and requires an experienced estate planning attorney to prepare. Here are a few reasons why you may create a revocable living trust:

1. Reduce or eliminate estate taxes
2. Avoid probate
3. Make things easier for your beneficiaries
4. Pass your assets to the ones you love quickly
5. Keep your estate private
6. Pass complete control to your family
7. Provide for minor children or grandchildren
8. Reduce the hassles for your spouse
9. Establish guardianship for minor children
10. Protect yourself in case you are incapacitated

After you analyze the cost, problems and heartaches caused to your family without a revocable living trust, the minimal cost of this preparation can be an extremely good investment to you and your loved ones. Even people using wills and joint tenancy are not spared the agony and costs of the above listed concerns.

If you decide that the revocable living trust is right for you, your attorney should prepare an entire revocable living trust portfolio giving you more than a will and a revocable living trust. You should receive Durable Powers of Attorney, Living Wills and forms for transferring your assets into your revocable living trust. There are three specific reasons for all of these documents.

1. In the event you live: The revocable living trust allows you to manage your estate simply and easily, just like you do now. You lose no control over your assets since you can continue to buy, sell, or give away your assets as you might without a trust.
   
   
2. In the event you die: The revocable living trust and will are the primary documents for settling your estate. There is usually a Pour Over Will that pushes all remaining assets outside of the trust into the trust. Therefore, there are no distributions listed in the Will. All assets will be distributed from the Trust, and the Trustee is responsible to follow the dictates of the Revocable Living Trust.
   
   
3. In the event of disability: The Living Will, and Durable Power of Attorney (financial and Health Care) are capable of allowing your affairs to be conducted according to your previous decisions. The Revocable Living Trust also has a Delegation of Authority clause that allows the affairs of the revocable living trust to be managed during disability. The Successor Trustee is empowered during such times to act on your behalf to protect your affairs, estate, and person.

That is why even though a Will and a Revocable Living Trust are strong documents it is smart of your attorney to prepare the other documents to prepare for these and other contingencies.

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