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… → ]

The difference between an A/B Revocable Living Trust and a Joint Revocable Living Trust is that the A/B trust permits the maximization of the “joint marital credit” for estate tax purposes. [ Read More… → ]

Typically, the title of an asset should be transferred from the individual owner’s name(s) to the names of the Trustee of the Trust. [ Read More… → ]

Assuming that you are creating a new Living Trust with the intent of replacing your existing one (i.e., you are not creating a second trust funded with assets not covered previously), the new Trust documents would supersede and take precedence over the existing documents. [ Read More… → ]

The answer depends exclusively upon how you wish to have your trust identified.

In most instances, you are permitted to obtain a federal tax ID number for your Trust, but said number may not be required, depending on how the trust will be taxed. [ Read More… → ]

The consideration required in this question simply has too many variables to provide a “stock” answer. [ Read More… → ]