Common Mistakes to Avoid When Drafting a Revocable Trust

There are many useful legal tools to help you plan your estate. Of these, one of the most beneficial is a revocable trust. When you create a revocable trust, you can transfer your property from your name into the name of the trust. You can place any type of property into a trust, including your home, vehicle, and personal items – although certain assets are best not transferred into the trust. When creating a trust, you as the grantor have full control over the document and any property you place within it. Trusts are not subject to probate and so, these documents can also protect inheritances for your loved ones.

Trusts are only effective if they are properly executed. There are also common mistakes that may result in a trust not being as useful as you hoped and not fulfilling your wishes. Below, our New Port Richey trusts lawyer outlines some of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them.

Failing to Transfer Assets into the Trust

If you wish to keep certain property out of the probate court, you must fund it with the assets after drafting the document. For example, you may create a trust and name it “The Smith Family Trust.” If you wish to place your home into the trust, you must change the title deeds on the property from your name to the name of the trust. If you fail to do this, the property will be subject to probate, regardless of your intentions to place it into the trust.

Over your lifetime, you are likely going to acquire certain property and sell or lose other assets. Forgetting to retitle these assets into the name of the trust is one of the most common mistakes people make that leaves their property unprotected.

Failing to Update the Trust

If there is one constant in life, it is change. People have children, get married and divorced, and tragically, pass away. Still, too many people draft a trust and then place it in a secure location, failing to think about it in the future. This can result in confusion, disputes, and unintended consequences.

For example, when you draft the trust, you will name a successor trustee who will manage the property within it after you pass away. If you survive your successor trustee and fail to name another one, which may result in the court appointing one. This choice may not align with yours.

Failing to Safeguard the Trust

People do not always know where to store their trust safely and so, they end up simply placing it in a drawer or another area that is not well-protected. When they need to make changes to it then, they cannot find it or they learn that it has become damaged. To avoid this mistake, always keep trust documents and other important estate planning documents in a safe that is waterproof and fireproof so it does not become misplaced, destroyed, or stolen.

Our Trusts Lawyer in New Port Richey Can Draft Your Documents 

At Messina Law Group, P.A., our New Port Richey trusts lawyer can help you establish a trust and draft other estate planning documents to ensure they are properly executed and provide the protection your family needs. Call us today at (813) 492-7798 or contact us online to schedule a consultation and to get the legal advice you need.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0736/0736.html