Will
Power of Attorney
Living Will
Living Trusts
Estate Planning
Probate
Estate Taxes
Living Trust Brochure
Guardianship
Joint Tenancy
Site Map
Links
Contact Us
Home

A living trust, also known as a revocable living trust or a family living trust is a legal document that holds title or ownership to your real property and assets. When you create a living trust you transfer ownership of your assets to the living trust. Transferring assets is typically called "funding." When you transfer title to your living trust you DO NOT relinquish any control. You can still buy, sell, borrow or transfer any assets inside the living trust.

To many, the living trust looks a lot like a will. Like a will, the living trust includes the details and instructions for how you want your estate to be handled at your death. However a will in many cases has to go through probate whereas a living trust if properly funded does not.

Will I lose control of my assets with a living trust?
No! The living trust is a written legal document that allows you, as the trustee(s), unlimited access to and full control of your assets during your lifetime. The living trust also enables you to pass property after your death to family, friends and/or loved ones and the living trust allows you to appoint someone (a successor trustee) to make certain your property goes to the ones you choose after your death.

For a living trust to be effective it has to own title to the property or asset. Remember, when you transfer title of your assets into the living trust it is called "Funding your Living Trust." Funding is the process of transferring the name on accounts or property to the name of the living trust. For example, accounts in the name of Bill and Mary Stevens, would now be held as "Bill and Mary Stevens, Trustees of the Stevens Family Trust dated date signed and year."

When the assets are in the name of the living trust, the trustee does not need to have the probate consent to transfer ownership. You or you and your spouse can be the primary trustees of the living trust receiving full control to buy, sell, borrow or transfer in the case of a spouse's death. After both spouses pass, the living trust identifies the person who will act as successor trustee. The living trust gives that person the right to manage all assets on behalf of your wishes made known in the living trust document. Remember you and your spouse will decide who will manage all affairs in the living trust.

To better understand the living trust, we thought it would be important to briefly explain the different roles of the people who would be involved.

Grantor
This is the person who sets up the living trust.

Trustee
The trustee is the person who will manage the assets in the living trust. Again, this will most likely be you while you are alive. When a living trust is created, the trustees are usually the same individuals as the grantor.

Successor Trustee
This is the person who will manage your assets for you when you die or if you should become incapacitated. This person or persons will have the right to manage your affairs without the need for any probate court. More importantly, the successor trustee has the right to distribute the living trust assets according to your instructions in the living trust. This immediate control can allow your estate to be transferred to your children or loved ones right away avoiding the time delay of probate, which can usually consume anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.

Beneficiaries
The people who will receive the benefit of the living trust assets are called the beneficiaries.