Revocable Living Trusts
Often folks start out their estate planning with a Will and then move to a Revocable Living Trust a little later in life. Kind of like buying a Chevrolet and then upgrading to a Cadillac or a Lincoln.
When you choose a Revocable Living Trust, you are investing in something more than merely having “your affairs in order.” You are securing privacy, probate-avoidance, preparedness, and ease of settlement for your loved ones. Privacy, because no one but your named beneficiaries will have a right to read the contents of your trust, nor inspect the value of your trust assets (goodbye, nosy neighbors and unpleasant kin!). Probate-avoidance, because assets titled to your trust or naming your trust as beneficiary will not need to be probated. Preparedness, because there will be a seamless transition from the point at which you can no longer manage your affairs to when your chosen successor trustee takes over to manage your trust. And ease of settlement, because it simply is easier and less cumbersome to settle an estate where there is no probate, especially for those adult children who live far away but are the ones you want to handle your affairs.
Trust Maintenance Program
If we have prepared your trust or updated your trust by preparing a trust amendment, you are enrolled in our Basic Trust Maintenance Program, entitling you to a complimentary annual review of your trust, among other benefits. Reviewing your trust - and the assets which “fund” the trust - periodically will ensure that your estate will not be probated when you die. Unfortunately, many trusts sit on a shelf after they are created and are never reviewed or updated. People assume that all is in order forever after, but that is simply not the case. If your assets change, it affects your trust; if you buy a new house, if you change accounts at a bank or at work, get new life insurance, get an inheritance - all of that impacts whether your trust is in order when you die. An annual check up is not only good for your health, it is good for a healthy estate plan. If you already have a trust, call us to schedule a trust review and to find out more about our Trust Maintenance Programs