Indianapolis living trust attorneys can assist you with the creation of a living trust to protect your family and your assets. A living trust is a very powerful tool that you can use for many different purposes to keep your money and property safe during your life and even after you pass away. It can help you to provide for your family and avoid financial loss- so you should make certain that you get the right legal help to create a living trust if this type of tool is right for you.
Frank & Kraft will carefully evaluate your personal situation to help you to determine if creating a living trust is a smart course of action given your family and assets. You should give us a call to get personalized advice. You can also read on to find out about five reasons why creating a living trust may make sense for you.
1. You can be prepared in case of incapacity
If you become incapacitated, you won’t be able to manage your assets on your own. If your assets are held in a living trust, the trustee can take immediate control over managing your wealth. This will keep the trust assets from being lost due to a delay in someone being appointed to manage them or lost due to mismanagement. There are other options for preparing for incapacity, including the creation of a power of attorney, but sometimes a living trust is the best way to keep wealth safe.
2. You can choose who will manage your assets if you cannot manage them
If you become incapacitated without an advanced plan in place, your loved ones would need to go to court in order to have a guardian or conservator appointed to manage your wealth. Not only does this take time, but the court might appoint someone who isn’t the person you would have preferred. If you have made an incapacity plan that includes a living trust, you can specify exactly who will manage the assets in the trust. Your chosen trustee will have a fiduciary duty to manage trust assets appropriately, so you will have the peace of mind of knowing you’ve chosen the right person and that person owes the highest obligation under the law.
3. You have flexibility of determining what happens to trust assets
A living trust is a very flexible estate planning tool. Unlike when you make an irrevocable trust which you cannot modify, change or end once it is created, you can retain a great deal of control over the assets in a living trust and you can do things like decide that it no longer makes sense for you to keep the trust in effect. While this flexibility is a big upside, the fact you still have control over the assets in the trust can have some adverse consequences, including making the assets held within the living trust still subject to being lost if you need costly nursing home care and means-tested Medicaid is the only source of payment for the big bills you are experiencing.
4. You can provide for your loved ones in a timely manner after you pass on
Another key to making a living trust is that it continues to provide for your loved ones after you are gone. If you make a living trust, the trustee will facilitate the transfer of trust assets through the trust administration process after your death and assets will be transferred to new owners much more quickly. If assets have to transfer through the probate process, it could take months.
5. You can reduce the chances your estate plan will be successfully contested after you pass away
When you’ve made an estate plan, it would be devastating for someone to successfully challenge it after you are gone so your preferences for your legacy don’t remain in effect. A living trust can sometimes reduce the chances that your preferences for the transfer of your wealth will be contested successfully. While a trust can be contested, your involvement with the trust during your lifetime makes it much harder for anyone to prove the trust isn’t a true reflection of your wishes.
Getting Help from Indianapolis Living Trust Attorneys
Indianapolis living trust attorneys at Frank & Kraft can provide the assistance and advice that you need to evaluate your personal situation and determine if trust creation is the best course of action for you. If creating a trust is a smart move based on your goals and your needs, we can help you to create a legally valid trust document that follows all formalities and that provides you with the expected protections.
To find out more about trust creation and about how our legal team can assist you in keeping your money and family safe by making wise use of legal tools like trusts, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 317-684-1100 or contact us online at any time to get personalized advice on your specific situation and the plans you can make to protect your loved ones and your legacy.
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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