A living trust, also known as a revocable living trust, is one of the most common and important planning tools for families. Almost everyone should have a will, but for people with medium and larger estates, there are some additional advantages to having a living trust.

First, a living trust can be used to avoid Probate Court. Since Probate Court expenses often cost two-to-six percent of an estate’s value, avoiding Probate can preserve more of your hard-earned assets, which can be passed on to your heirs and favorite charities. This savings can add up to tens of thousands of dollars, or more for larger estates. When you use a living trust to bypass Probate Court, you not only save money for your estate, you usually also experience a more speedy distribution process. It can often take more than 9-12 months for the Probate process to take place.

Next, a living trust is private. Probate Court records are completely public, which means anyone can find out which assets you owned, who is to receive your assets and how much of your assets each recipient will receive. A living trust allows your trustee (the manager of your trust) to follow your instructions for the distribution of your home, investments and other assets, presented to your heirs and ministries, in a quiet and private way.

Finally, a trust is less likely to be contested than if your assets are distributed by Probate. Since the Probate process is public, anyone can access the information and try to file a claim to contest the distribution of your estate. Since a trust is private, it is not open to public scrutiny, and is much less likely to allow someone to contest your wishes.

Planning Considerations For Your Living Trust

• What is a trustee? Your trustee is the person in charge of managing your trust. You can be your own trustee, as long as you are able and willing to complete the management duties. A successor trustee is the person you would like to manage your trust assets when you are no longer willing or able to do so. Married people often choose their spouse to be their successor trustee. A wise adult child may also be a good choice as successor trustee in some cases. Or, you may want to choose a bank or trust company as your final successor trustee.
• How can you fund your trust? A living trust is a method of indirect ownership. When your trustee lives past your lifetime, the trustee can manage and distribute the assets owned by your trust even after you pass away. Therefore, it is critical that the ownership of your assets be transferred into the name of your living trust. If your living trust is not “funded” it cannot do its job of bypassing Probate and privately distributing your property according to your wishes.
• Can your living trust can be changed or revoked? You may change or revoke your living trust any time you wish. You may sell or buy property, make charitable gifts and conduct your personal business as you wish, as long as you always remember to change the title of new assets into the ownership of your living trust.

Good Plans Need Experienced Planners

You should always seek the services of a qualified attorney, and other planning professionals, when you are ready to create a great plan to distribute the assets you have worked so hard for all of your life. A great place to start is to visit with the highly trained and experienced American Bible Society Regional Advisor who works in your area. Our Regional Advisors work with our friends on a regular basis to help you create charitable estate planning solutions to meet all of your needs. Many tax advantages, and even increased income techniques, are possible with charitable estate planning. There is never any cost or obligation for any of our services. We see our work as a ministry to our friends and partners.

To connect with an American Bible Society Regional advisor, visit the “Contact Us” page of our website.