Benefits of Drafting a Living Trust
People embark on estate planning with different family circumstances, different goals, and different issues with their estate. While some estates are very simple and require nothing more than a few documents, others are very complex with advanced estate planning needs. Regardless of the size and complexity of your estate, living trusts are estate planning tools that are used in many different types of estates. Below, our Tampa trusts lawyer explains the benefits of these estate planning documents.
Avoid Probate
The primary benefit that a living trust provides is the ability to avoid probate. Probate is a court-supervised process that administers and distributes a person’s estate after they pass away. The process, though, can be time-consuming and expensive. Any costs that arise from probate are taken from the estate, which can deplete the property you intended to leave for your beneficiaries. The property within a trust, on the other hand, is not subject to the probate process and so, your beneficiaries can receive it in entirety, and right away.
Living Trusts Provide Some Asset Protection
A living trust will not protect your assets from creditors and judgments throughout your lifetime. If you owe a debt or a court-ordered payment, certain individuals can still make claim to the property in a trust to repay it. However, after you pass away a living, or revocable, trust becomes irrevocable. This means the property within is protected from creditors and judgments for your beneficiaries and they can receive the full property you left them.
Discretionary and Spendthrift Provisions
A living trust does not only allow you to leave property to your beneficiaries, but it also allows you to outline how you want the property distributed. By including a spendthrift provision in a trust, you can ensure a beneficiary only receives a certain amount of their inheritance at certain intervals, usually annually. A discretionary provision, on the other hand, allows your trustee to determine when a beneficiary requires property from the trust, such as when they need to pay tuition or bills. In either case, these provisions ensure a beneficiary will not waste their inheritance.
Planning for Incapacity
After establishing and funding a trust, you can serve as the trustee. Trustees oversee and manage the property within a trust. You will also likely name a successor trustee. If you become incapacitated, the successor trustee will take over and ensure that the property continues to be managed according to your wishes. Still, a living trust may not protect you from being ineligible for government benefits such as Medicaid.
Organizing Assets
After you pass away, your personal representative will have to collect and inventory all of your property. When assets are already organized and placed into a trust, it can make this task easier and more efficient.
Our Trusts Lawyer in Tampa Can Draft Your Document
Whether you need to establish a trust or other estate planning documents, we can help. At Messina Law Group, P.A., our Tampa trusts lawyer can advise on the tools that can help and draft the documents you need to ensure your wishes are respected. Call us now at (813) 492-7798 or contact us online to schedule a consultation and to get the legal help you need.
Source:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0736/0736.html
