A Living Trust is an estate-planning tool that can help keep many of your assets out of probate. When you fund your assets to your trust, they can be passed to the trust beneficiaries without the need of going through the probate system first. The reason that assets in your trust can pass to your heirs without going through probate is that they don’t belong to you, but to the trust you created. Fortunately, there are some assets that do not need to be funded to your trust due to the fact that … [Read more...] about Assets That You Don’t Need to Fund to Your Trust
Wills and Trusts
The First Step in Avoiding a Probate Mess
Who have you chosen to serve as executor of your estate? And are you confident that the person you’ve selected is the right fit? Making sure the right person is in charge of your estate can go a long way toward avoiding a probate mess. A recent Reuters Wealth blog puts the spotlight on a daughter who had an unpleasant experience with her father’s executor, and gives some good advice on how to choose the right executor for your estate: Know Your Estate. If settling your estate will be a … [Read more...] about The First Step in Avoiding a Probate Mess
The Limits of a Living Trust
Depending on your situation, a living trust can be a valuable – even essential – estate planning tool. But as useful as a living trust can be, there are limits to what it can do. For example: Probate Avoidance Isn’t Automatic One of the main benefits of a living trust is that it can help you avoid probate. But simply drawing up and signing a trust doesn’t automatically ensure probate avoidance. Instead, you need to transfer into the trust any property that would otherwise be subject to the … [Read more...] about The Limits of a Living Trust
Why an IRA Trust?
Your IRA allows you to designate one or more beneficiaries to receive your account funds in the event of your death, so why would you want to go one step further and create an IRA trust? There are a couple of reasons why you might opt to include this tool in your estate plan. First, a brief overview of how an IRA trust works: it’s a revocable trust that you establish, naming the trustee as beneficiary of your IRA. When you pass away, the balance of your IRA will pass to your trustee, who will … [Read more...] about Why an IRA Trust?
Worried About a Will Contest? A Trust May be the Way to Go
Do you have your suspicions that one of your heirs might be dissatisfied with the way you’ve structured your estate plan? Are your children apt to fight over their inheritances? If you’re worried that your loved ones might be unhappy enough with your will to contest it in court, you might want to meet with an estate planning attorney and talk about whether a living trust would be a better option. Unlike a will, a properly funded living trust allows your assets to avoid probate. And, while this … [Read more...] about Worried About a Will Contest? A Trust May be the Way to Go
An Unusual Example of the Need for Estate Planning
Karel Fortyn was 52 when he died of a stroke in early May. He was a life-long lover of reptiles, and he’d built a business around them: Fortyn was the owner of the Seaway Serpentarium in Ontario, Canada. The Serpentarium, operated out of Fortyn’s home, boasted a collection of more than 200 snakes and other reptiles – many of them rare species. Aside from his collection of reptiles, Fortyn left behind a former common-law wife and a brother, but, unfortunately, no Will. Now, his brother and his … [Read more...] about An Unusual Example of the Need for Estate Planning
Three Advantages of a Revocable Living Trust
If you’re considering whether to establish a will or a revocable living trust, you might want to consider these three advantages offered by a living trust: 1. A Living Trust Can Help You Avoid Probate. When you have a revocable living trust, any property that is titled in the name of the trust at the time of your death is distributing according to the terms of the trust – no probate necessary. On the other hand, if you don’t have a trust, or if there’s property in your name that’s been … [Read more...] about Three Advantages of a Revocable Living Trust
Making Changes to Your Revocable Living Trust
A few years ago, Bob and Mary established a revocable living trust. They’ve been careful to transfer all the appropriate property into their trust, so they’re confident that their assets will be distributed according to the trust terms when they pass away. Trust Restatement So, what happens when they need to change the terms of their trust? Let’s say Bob and Mary’s only son recently won several million dollars in the lottery, and he has let them know he would prefer that they leave their … [Read more...] about Making Changes to Your Revocable Living Trust
How’s This for Tough Love?
At a recent awards ceremony, Jackie Chan told the press that he intends to leave his entire estate to charity, and leave nothing to his son, singer Jaycee Chan. “If he is capable, he can make his own money. If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money,” Chan said. This stance actually reflects the feelings held by more than a few wealthy Americans. When U.S. Trust surveyed a group of 457 individuals with investable assets of more than $3 million, only 49 percent said that passing … [Read more...] about How’s This for Tough Love?
Estate Planning Tip: Name Alternate Beneficiaries
One of your goals in making an estate plan is ensuring that your property makes its way into the hands of the right people when you pass away. To this end, you most likely have in mind the names of the people you’ll name as beneficiaries in your Will or Living Trust. However, for each beneficiary you name, you’ll also want to name an alternate beneficiary. Why Name Alternates? In case your primary beneficiary passes away before you do (and you haven’t had a chance to update your estate … [Read more...] about Estate Planning Tip: Name Alternate Beneficiaries
