Remember, ‘Ask Standard Legal’ was created to respond only to ‘questions of fact’ for the legal topics listed at the left. So it follows that we cannot respond with suggestions on how a person might structure something or how to proceed; that’s the very definition of legal advice.

You can certainly create an LLC at your discretion with any members you choose to involve. Details about the formation of an LLC can be found here. You might also wish to review the “BUSINESS LAW AND INCORPORATION ARTICLES” at our Standard Legal Law Library to see if an LLC is the best structure for your needs.

But we simply cannot advise you (or even make suggestions) as to the tax or estate issues related to such a decision, or even whether an LLC would function in a certain capacity. In pro se (i.e. “self-help”) law, these are the very types of decisions that must come from the individual “helping themselves”.

If you want or need legal advice, find an attorney. If you need to have a discussion of options on how best to proceed, find an attorney. Unless YOU yourself are 100% certain of the structure you wish to create and the end results of those decisions, find an attorney. To find a local attorney for FREE who specializes in either Estate Planning or Business Law, visit Standard Legal’s Attorney Finder page.

To consider making such a critical long-term financial decision based on some free advice you receive from a faceless person at a legal forms website truly is a bad idea…

Vehicles can be transferred into a Living Trust so that the Trust holds the title or ownership to the vehicles. Upon the death of the Grantor of the Trust, the vehicle continue to be owned by the Trust and do not need probate court or bureau of motor vehicle approval to transfer title to the beneficiary named in the Trust document. [ Read More… → ]

The abbreviation TTEE is shorthand for the word “Trustee” — the person who executes the terms contained within a Trust.

Typically, there are two options to changing the name on an existing Trust, assuming the existing trust was validly executed and properly funded:    [ Read More… → ]

A Living Trust is a written agreement that should, if properly drafted and executed, be valid in any state in which a person resides.

The location of the person’s residence or the location of the assets used to fund the trust are not relevant to its validity. Even if the assets of the original Trust are disposed, the Trust remains valid and is not tied to any specific location. [ Read More… → ]

If the heirs of a Trust believe that the Trustee is not fulfilling his or her duty as trustee, they can initiate a lawsuit in the appropriate court to compel or require that the trustee fulfill that fiduciary duty. [ Read More… → ]

Standard Legal’s Living Trust legal forms software allows the donor to name the Trust whatever he or she cares to name it. (In the vast majority of cases, the name of the donor is the name of the trust, but there is no requirement that the donor’s name be used.)

Get complete details on Standard Legal’s Living Trust legal forms software here.

Standard Legal does not require that any asset be listed directly within the Trust documents in its legal forms software package. [ Read More… → ]

Generally, there is no taxable event when property is transferred to a self-funded (revocable) Living Trust.

But a person creating a Trust should not take this response to mean that a specific situation is not the exception to this rule — especially if some “creative funding” is implemented. [ Read More… → ]

As long as deeds to real estate or property are listed in the name of a Trust, the property is owned by the Trust and will be administered per the terms of the Trust. To make this structure legal for each state will require filing each property’s deed in the appropriate county records office under the Trust’s name, most likely using a Quitclaim Deed.

The Trust must be executed (i.e. signed and notarized) by the Donor (the person making the Trust) while he or she was living.

Upon the death of the Donor, the Trustees are required to administer the Trust by following the written language contained in the Trust document itself. [ Read More… → ]

A “TIN” (Taxpayer Identification Number) is a number created through the IRS to track specific accounts and ventures for ease of tax reporting. [ Read More… → ]

The answer to this question depends on which state and county the Donor (the person making the Trust) or the Maker (the person creating a Will) resides.

In the vast majority of states, a Living Trust and/or a Last Will and Testament do NOT need to be registered or filed while the Donor or Maker is alive. [ Read More… → ]

Transferring vehicles to a Trust requires that the vehicle title be changed so that the Trust is the owner of the vehicle.

Likewise, the obligation to pay (i.e. the loan) should also be transferred to the Trust, but doing so would require a separate loan or note to be executed with the lender who financed the vehicle. [ Read More… → ]

In most states, mobile homes are “titled” like vehicles and are not considered real property (where ownership is evidenced by a deed, like land or a permanent home). [ Read More… → ]

A Living Trust avoids probate because the property is owned by the Trust and not by the individual. So Trust property is not a part of any person’s estate when that person dies.

But to avoid probate, the property must be placed into the Trust BEFORE the original property owner dies.  [ Read More… → ]

Yes, a Living Trust document can certainly contain both revocable and irrevocable components within it.

But care in drafting this type of Trust must be used to ensure that the trust is properly funded, and that assets become held by the “irrevocable portion” of the trust only at the intended time.

Get complete details on Standard Legal’s Living Trust legal forms software here.

The terms contained within a Revocable Living Trust will dictate when the named beneficiaries are to receive Trust assets; or, if the trustee is granted discretion in issuing payments, the payments are required when the trustee determines in his discretion that they are required. [ Read More… → ]

A debtor in a bankruptcy cannot take advantage of state exemptions to shield any asset from bankruptcy, nor can a debtor sell or transfer assets simply to ‘protect’ them. [ Read More… → ]

The value of creating a Living Trust is in its functionality, and not simply a decision that should be made based solely on the dollar value of the assets it is to contain. [ Read More… → ]