What Does a Living Trust Do For You?

Indianapolis living trust attorneys can provide you with help creating a living trust. There are many reasons why you should create this type of trust but unfortunately many people who could benefit from having one do not realize the benefits that these trusts can offer. 

Frank & Kraft can provide guidance on what a living trust can do for you and can help you with the process of creating a living trust so you can get the advantages of this trust type. You should make a living trust while you still have the time and ability to create your trust and transfer assets into it before something happens to you. Give us a call today to find out about the ways in which our Indianapolis living trust attorneys can help.

What Does a Living Trust Do For You?

There are many things that a living trust can do for you. A living trust can:

• Help you be prepared for incapacity: The assets held in the living trust will be able to be managed right away by a backup trustee you designate when you create a trust. Your loved ones won’t need to go to court to get a guardian named to manage the trust assets– which is good because this process take time and the court might appoint a different person than you would have preferred.
• Bifurcate ownership and possession without giving up control: When you make a living trust, you transfer assets into the trust so the trust becomes the owner — but you likely retain possession of the assets. This is called bifurcation of ownership. However, because you are able to maintain control over what happens to trust assets, you get the benefit of the trust owning assets that you possess — while also not giving up your ability to do virtually whatever you want with trust assets.
• Facilitate the quick and private transfer of wealth outside of the probate process; In most cases, when you pass away, assets must transfer through the probate process. When you have made a living trust, you can facilitate the transfer of wealth through trust administration. Trust administration can be a much more private process because it generally takes place entirely outside of court and thus does not cause a court record to be produced. It can also be a much faster means of transferring wealth to beneficiaries, and a much more cost-effective way to transfer wealth than through the probate process.

However, there are also some things a living trust will not do. For example, when you create a living trust, you still retain substantial control over assets. The assets held within the trust will still be considered countable assets for purposes of determining Medicaid eligibility, which means that you might not be able to get means-tested Medicaid benefits to pay for nursing home care unless you’ve impoverished yourself.

Furthermore, assets held within a living trust can still be subject to estate tax if you have a substantial estate with significant value, even if the assets transfer outside of the probate process.

Frank & Kraft will provide more guidance on exactly what a living trust does — and does not — do for you so you can decide if creating one makes sense.

How can Indianapolis Living Trust Attorneys Help You?

Indianapolis living trust attorneys at Frank & Kraft can provide you with personalized one-on-one advice about the trust creation process. We can help you to identify the advantages that could be associated with creating a trust and can work closely with you to determine what type of trust is right for you. We can also help you to create your trust document and fund your trust.

To find out more about all of the different ways our firm can help you to reap the benefits of trust creation and ensure your trust is a legally valid one, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 317-684-1100 or contact us online to learn more.

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Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney

Paul Kraft is Co-Founder and the senior Principal of Frank & Kraft, one of the leading law firms in Indiana in the area of estate planning as well as business and tax planning.

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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