Answers to Frequently Asked Living Trust Questions
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.
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 … Read more
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The consideration required in this question simply has too many variables to provide a “stock” answer.