• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
  • Services
    • Asset & Business Planning
    • Dental Practice Law
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Financial Planning Assistance
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Medicaid and Elder Law
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Carmel, Indiana Elder Resources
        • Fishers Indiana Elder Law Resources
        • Greenfield, Indiana Elder Law Resources
        • Greenwood Elder Resources
        • Indianapolis Elder Law Resources
        • Lawrence Elder Law Resources
        • Plainfield Elder Resources
        • Zionsville Elder Law Resources
    • Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
        • Business Succession Planning
      • Elder Abuse
      • Elder Law
        • Medicaid
        • Medicaid Planning
        • Planning for Long-Term Care
      • Estate Planning
        • Avoiding Estate Taxes
        • Estate Planning for Parents
        • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
        • LGBTQ Estate Planning
        • Women and the Need for Estate Planning
      • Financial Planning
      • Incapacity Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • Pet Planning
      • Philanthropy in Your Estate Plan
      • Probate
      • Power of Attorney
      • Small Estate Administration
      • Trusts
        • Trust Administration
        • Trust Administration
        • Serving as Executor
      • Understanding Your Social Security Retirement Benefits
      • Wills
        • Contesting a Will
    • Newsletter
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Probate and Trust Administration
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss Of A Loved One
      • Probate Resources
        • Carmel, Indiana Probate Resources
        • Greenfield Probate
        • Greenwood Probate
        • Indianapolis Probate
        • Plainfield Probate
        • Indiana Probate
        • Zionsville Probate
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Areas We Serve
    • Boone County
      • Lebanon
      • Zionsville
    • Hamilton County
      • Carmel
      • Fishers
    • Hancock County
      • Greenfield
    • Hendricks County
      • Brownsburg
      • Plainfield
    • Johnson County
      • Franklin, Indiana
      • Greenwood
    • Marion County
      • Central Indiana
      • Indianapolis
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law

Indianapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

CONNECT WITH US TODAY(317) 684-1100

Attend a Free Workshop
Home » What Does a Living Trust Do For You?

What Does a Living Trust Do For You?

August 28, 2018Living Trusts

Indianapolis living trust attorneys

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.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
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.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • Updated Federal Gift and Estate Tax Figures for 2023 - January 26, 2023
  • Why Estate Planning Is Important for Multi-National Couples - January 24, 2023
  • When Do I Need to Update a Trust Agreement? - January 19, 2023

Other Articles You May Find Useful

How Can a Living Trust Help Me?
Indianapolis trust administration attorney
What Does It Mean If a Trustee Is Accused of Self-Dealing?
Indianapolis estate planning attorney
Using a Living Trust to Avoid Leaving a Lump Sum Inheritance
the Carmel living trust attorneys at Frank & Kraft explain the various ways in which a living trust might terminate.
When Does a Living Trust Terminate?
Indianapolis living trust attorney
What Is a Revocable Living Trust?
living trust
What Does a Living Trust Do for You?

Primary Sidebar

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law

Download our free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube

Blog Subscription

Where We Are

Frank & Kraft Attorneys at Law
135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Fax: (317) 684-6111

See Larger MapGet directions

Office Hours

Monday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Map

frankkraft_sidbr_map

Footer

  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
footer-logo

Frank & Kraft Attorneys at Law
Attorney Advertisement

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

© 2023 · American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Contact Us