Planning Ahead Article
Revocable Living Trust
A trust is a contract between yourself as the Trustmaker/Grantor/Settlor/Trustor and yourself (typically) as Trustee (the person that manages the trust). You can change or revoke the trust at any time that you have capacity.
You can specify who determines your disability. You can set out the terms of the trust to handle distribution while you are alive and well, alive and disabled, and not alive. The trust handles both disability and providing for your beneficiaries. You can set the terms for how and when your beneficiaries receive assets from the trust. If the beneficiary has disabilities, a special needs trust may be appropriate.
You may want assets held in trust for a minor beneficiary. If a beneficiary is going through bankruptcy or has creditor issues, you may want to draft the trust so that the beneficiary cannot demand the money from the Trustee. Sometimes trusts are set up to provide protection in event of divorce (if the beneficiary receives the money outright and then commingles it with spouse, it can be hard to trace what is left, if anything, if the inheritance and amounts not traceable are included in what is divided in the divorce).
Consult an estate planning attorney to review your goals/wishes and the various options in this area.
Make sure you properly fund your trust after signing it and review all beneficiary designations to make sure they meet your wishes. It will be frustrating for your Trustee to not only have to do the trust administration but also the probate because you “forgot” to change title on an asset into your trust.
Comments:
On 3/1/08
James said
WE have our Trusts and wills Made up, WE NEED to Know how to FUND these instruments, thru the Govt, without going thru Lawyers, we have no extra money and want to do the process ourselves..
QUESTIONS
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My late husband suffered from Alzheimer's Disease when he borrowed money and signed documents that deeded his home to another person. That person refuses to return title of the home to my late husband's estate even though the loan was paid off in full. What are my rights?
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What is a conservator?
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Where can I find an online form for a Power of Attorney that I can print?
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When a spouse passes away and has debt in his/her name only, like credit cards, and or contractual obligations for satellite services or cell phone service that charge fee for early termination, etc.- is the remaining spouse responsble for that debt and fulfilling contractual obligation?
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I am alone in the whole world. It is just my senior dog, and I, who is a senior as well. How can I plan ahead, since I can not afford paying for a living will, and what is going to happen when I die being by myself? Thank you.
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Can I be barred from handling my own affairs for any reason?
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Can I just leave my savings in a bank account for later use?
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If my 81-year-old husband predeceases me without a will, how is his estate settled? We have no children together, but he has three grown daughters. The bank accounts, house and car pass to me because we own them jointly with right of survivorship, but what about other property he owns by himself?
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My mother passed away. She does have a will and I was nominated as the executer and trustee. I am the sole beneficiary. She only has a bank account but when the account was setup nobody was on the account but her. no payable unpon death. What is required by the bank for me to access the account to begin paying for her expences? Her will did state that I shoud have immediate access without going through the courts.
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My Mother lived in and owned property in Sun City, AZ for about 30 yrs. She had two living children whom have had a rather toxic relationship. She had a living trust and her son is named Successor Trustee. In 2003 she suffered a small stroke and (while still mentally alert) she had a problem with her speaking ability. As a result, she retired as Trustee and named her son who divides his time between New Mexico and Alaska. Her son physically relocated her to New Mexico about 10 months before she passed in Feb. 2011. He had sold her property in AZ in Sept 2010 but moved all her personal belongings to his property in NM prior to that date. Her remains are interred in AZ. Which state would have jurisdiction if a probate proceeding is necessary? (i.e.- Say the Successor Trustee fails to act?)
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