Can A Married Couple Create a Joint Revocable Trust?

When married couples are creating their estate plan, a question that often pops up is whether they can create one joint revocable trust or if they need two separate trusts. The answer is yes, a married couple can create a joint revocable trust. The better question to ask, though, is whether a joint revocable trust is more beneficial to the couple than separate revocable trusts.

A Joint Revocable Trust Can Be Easier to Manage

Joint revocable trusts tend to be easier to manage during your lifetime since all assets are combined into one trust. This makes it so trust management is very closely aligned with pre-trust ownership – both spouses equally own the joint assets and can control their separate assets.

Separate trusts would require each spouse to manage his or her own trust. While you can have separate trusts and name each spouse as the co-trustee, a single joint revocable trust can often achieve this best.

Joint Revocable Trusts Are Good Options for First Marriages

In a first marriage, where both parties have the same beneficiaries, distribution patterns, and trustee, a joint revocable trust is often the best option. Having a joint revocable trust makes things much simpler and more cost-effective in this type of situation.

However, if the couple is in a second marriage (or later), and they have different beneficiary designations or own a good bit of property they wish to keep separate, separate revocable trusts may be a better option. Similarly, if a couple has a prenuptial agreement in place, separate revocable trusts are likely better suited for that situation.

Jacksonville Estate Planning Attorney

If you are in Florida and are interested in discussing whether a trust is right for you, contact us today. If you are ready to get started on your Florida estate plan, you can do so here.