Does Standard Legal Offer A/B Trusts?

Revocable Trusts are tools that allow one to own assets and property in a manner that avoids the necessity of probate upon the death of the trust Grantor(s).

An A/B Trust is an estate planning document that was originally designed to not only provide the probate avoidance benefit, but also to avoid or minimize federal gift and estate tax consequences for a married couple.

However, the use of an A/B trust can be somewhat complex and can limit flexibility of trust asset ownership for a surviving spouse in a marriage.

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Is the Situs of a Trust Important?

The situs of a Trust — i.e. the location of its forming — may be a key element when designing an Irrevocable Trust, a Legacy Trust, a Self-Settled Trust or a trust that provides asset protection under a state’s common law or statutory law.

But for a basic Revocable Living Trust, the situs is less important.

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Is Any One States’ Laws Better Than Others for a Living Trust?

The primary purposes of a properly funded Revocable Living Trust is to avoid probate. If the Grantor’s real and personal property is properly transferred to the Living Trust, then such property is not subjected to the probate process upon the grantor’s death.

As such, the probate process — of Missouri, Nevada or any other state for that matter — becomes less important, given the fact that the probate process is by-passed by the use of a properly funded Revocable Living Trust.

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