The Benefits of a Living Trust
When clients come to us for an estate plan, they don’t always know what they need. This is normal! You have likely never done this before (or it has been a while since you have), we don’t expect you to know what you need. We just expect you to be honest about your situation so we can discuss together your options.
One of the most common questions we get is what the benefits to a living trust are. Clients often hear about living trusts, but they don’t really understand the benefits and whether they need one.
There are many benefits to a living trust, but not every family situation calls for one. When you meet with us, we discuss your unique situation and whether a living trust would benefit you. Below are some of the benefits to a living trust.
A Living Trust Avoids Probate
Probate can be a time-consuming and expensive process. Depending on how your assets are structured, it can delay or reduce your beneficiary’s inheritances. By creating (and funding!) a living trust, you can avoid the probate process. This can help your beneficiaries access their inheritances quicker and result in a smoother process for them.
A Living Trust Can Save You Money
As mentioned above, probate can be lengthy and costly. In Florida, most probate cases must have an attorney on the case, which adds to the expense of probate. By having a living trust that you have properly funded, you can save money on those attorney fees. This can put money back in the pockets of your beneficiaries.
While a living trust is more expensive than a will up front, they can cost less overall. This is one of the discussions we have when deciding whether a living trust is right for you.
A Living Trust Can Avoid Probate in Another State
In that same vein, Florida cannot probate property that you own in another state, which means you may have to potentially hire an attorney in the other state for the “ancillary” probate. So, if you have property in a state other than Florida and you place that property in your trust, you can likely avoid a probate case in that state.
A Living Trust Can Help if You Become Incapacitated
If you become disabled or incapacitated, your successor trustee can step up and manage your affairs without the need for court intervention. This can sometimes avoid a guardianship of the property, which can also be an expensive (and intrusive) endeavor! In that situation, your successor trustee can step in and take care of your affairs in the same way you had been.
A Living Trust Protects Your Privacy
The last common reason clients want a living trust is because it offers a level of privacy that you do not get from a will. The probate process is public record and transactions that take place within a probate case are also public record. A living trust, on the other hand, is not made public and allows for the distribution of your estate to be done in private upon your passing.
Questions?
The above list is not exhaustive, but it highlights some of the benefits to a living trust. If you are in Florida and are interested in discussing whether a living trust is right for you, contact us today. If you’re ready to get started on your Florida estate plan, you can do so here.