No matter how old you are or how many assets you have, establishing a solid estate plan is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your loved ones. However, there are so many different ways to go about this, and each should be tailored to the wishes of the individual.
Working with an experienced estate planning attorney can make this process much easier and ensure all your documents are legally binding and accurately reflect your needs. It’s also worth educating yourself about your options, one of which is setting up a revocable living trust.
To learn more about this, reach out to me, Mark E. Tillery, Attorney at Law, to schedule a consultation. I’m able to help those in Knoxville, Tennessee, and throughout Knox County, Maryville, Farragut, and Clinton.
To fully understand what a revocable living trust is, you also should know what an irrevocable living trust is. Each one allows you to transfer certain assets into the name of a trustee while you are still living, and then that trustee will be responsible for distributing the assets to your named beneficiaries:
Most people are familiar with a will but are less familiar with a trust. The two have many things in common, but also differ in key ways. Both a will and a trust let you assign assets to be given to a beneficiary after you pass away. However, when you only use a will, it will likely have to go through the legal process of probate. During probate, the contents of the will become part of the public record, meaning anyone can have access to them.
Additionally, since the estate must move through the courts before assets can be distributed, this means that beneficiaries likely won’t receive anything for several months to a year. With a trust, your estate is kept private, and assets can be transferred to your heirs immediately after you pass away.
A living trust is also sometimes confused with a living will, but in reality, the two are quite different. A living will (also called an advance directive) is an estate planning document where you can outline your health care wishes should you become incapacitated. This can include what kind of medical procedures you want, what kind of end-of-life care you want, and whether you want to be kept on life support.
Once people learn about the benefits of a revocable living trust, they may discover they want to include one as part of their estate plan. Some of the major advantages include:
Setting up a living trust (as with all estate planning documents) should always be done alongside a skilled attorney. If you attempt to create this on your own, you risk making a mistake, not filling out the paperwork correctly, and not using the correct legal language that will make it enforceable.
You’ll first need to identify the assets that you want to place in the trust and then the beneficiaries to which these assets will go. The next important decision you’ll have to make is who to appoint as your trustee. This should ideally be someone you know well and who can be counted on to follow your wishes. Of course, the beauty of a revocable trust is that these assignments can be changed as your needs change. You will then want to hire a reputable estate planning attorney who can help you set up the trust.
If you’re in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area and want to learn more about including a revocable living will in your estate plan, contact me, Mark E. Tillery, Attorney at Law, to get started.