What is a Revocable Trust
A living trust is an important estate planning element. This element or medium can be used to store individual’s assets while still alive. Creating a living trust is one of the best ways to share and safeguard the assets of your estate. This estate planning element can also protect your assets from the court intervention.
A living trust can help you exercise excessive control over your properties. It can also help bring your wishes regarding your estate to pass. Cool, right? There are several types of living trust, so it is best you contact a trust attorney or an estate planning attorney to determine which trust is best for your situation.
Remember, estate owners place their assets in revocable trust. However, not all assets can be placed in a revocable trust. We’ll be taking a lucid look at the various assets that you should consider placing in a trust.
What assets can go into a revocable trust?
Life Insurance
It is possible to alter the name attached to your life insurance to that of the trustee designated for the revocable trust without having to worry about any tax issue. However, ensure you contact an estate planning attorney before you make any decision. When it boils down to revocable living trust, there exist some states that don’t safeguard a person for creditor protection reasons.
Cars
As surprising as this is, it is very true. Of course, you can change the titles of cars in your trust. Not just cars, bikes, airplanes, trucks, etc. But, mind you, some sates consider this transfer as a sale and would charge taxes for changing the title of the vehicles in your trust.
If this happens in your state, the best thing to do is to drop the idea and buy your new car in the name of the trust. This aside, in some states, probate is not done to facilitate the transfer of ownership of a vehicle after the death of the owner. Some states gives individual the opportunity to choose beneficiaries for their vehicle before their demise.
Health Savings Accounts and Medical Savings accounts
It is impossible to rename these accounts in the name of your trust. This is because these accounts are exempted from trusts or custodian accounts created to foot medical bills that qualify.
What assets cannot go into revocable trust?
Cash accounts
Things like savings, CDs, money markets can all be included in your trust. However, ensure that you are very cautious with CDs. Your bank may impose penalties on you if you decide to change the title or name of your CDs into a revocable living trust. They do this because they believe that by changing the title you are trying to withdraw your funds early. Early withdrawal of funds leads to a penalty.
Valuable personal assets
This one is very common. Types of valuable properties are necklaces, PCs, paintings, sculpture, cars, pets, equipment, and the list just goes on.
You can contact a lawyer regarding the tendency of drafting a pour-over will. A pour-over will enables your executor to move your valuable personal assets to your trust after your demise. Probate will still be required here but since it involves little properties, it shouldn’t be that difficult.
Business interests
You can as well place your shared, general and limited partnership interests, etc. in a trust.
Estate Planning Attorney
Estate planning can be a very complex process. Such plans are best handled by professional lawyers, not yourself or the some estate-making site on the net. To plan an estate that portrays your wish, you need someone who understand your wishes and is capable of incorporating those wishes in your estate plan. You need someone who won’t make silly mistakes that might ruin your precious estate plan. An estate planning attorney and not yourself, is the best pick for this job.
An estate planning attorney is not only experienced in planning estates, an estate planning attorney is well conversant with all elements of an estate plan. This denotes that, they can offer you valuable advice regarding your estate plan. They can plan an estate that avoids probate, help you plan an estate that doesn’t require your beneficiaries to pay so much in estate taxes, etc.
If you want to provide your family with the best care and protection even after you are gone, you need to hire a competent estate planning attorney to assist you in planning your estate. We boast of such attorneys. Contact us now and let’s help you with that plan of yours.
