It is the joy of every estate owner to create an estate plan that conforms to his or her wishes. Furthermore, it is also the joy of an estate owner to create an estate plan that makes things easy for the estate beneficiaries. Easy in the sense that, beneficiaries don’t need to undergo certain stressful court processes before they get the assets they are entitled to. Everything goes as smooth as a flowing tap. However, one can only create such estate plan by creating a living trust. Why don’t we take a good look at what a living trust is?
What is a Living 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.
What are the benefits of a living trust?
A living trust boast of several benefits which is why it remains one of the best estate planning elements. By creating a living trust, you are directly solidifying your authority over your assets. As stated, it can help prevent probate, it can also help in the event of your incapacitation. Let’s take a look at some common benefits of a living trust:
It protects your assets from probate
All estate owners hate the probate process. In fact, your estate beneficiaries are also bound to hate the process if you don’t put plans in place to bypass this stressful process. Assets you place in living trusts are free from probate. This denotes that, these assets can be transferred to the designated beneficiaries without court approval which is in the form of probate.
Helps you save money
As weird as that seems, it is the gospel truth. Everyone wants to save money. You want to save money, right? Well, creating a living trust is one simple way to go about that. Because a living trust helps you bypass the probate process, you tend to save money that would have been used to pay for court fees. Court fees, sometimes, can be sort of expensive, you know?
What counts as incapacitation in a living trust?
When you create a living trust, you will have to designate a trustee. The trustee will help make crucial decision in the event you become incapacitated. With that being said, what does it mean to be incapacitated?
An incapacitated individual is one that isn’t capable of taking care of him or herself. There are lots of illness and accidents that can result in incapacitation. One of such illness can be Alzheimer, or other types of mental sickness. In addition, a ghastly accident of any sort can also lead to incapacitation.
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.
