Living trust lawyers at Frank & Kraft can assist you with determining if a revocable living trust is an estate planning tool that you should use. Many people can benefit from a living trust and you should each out to a compassionate and knowledgeable member of our legal team to find out if trust creation is the right choice for you.
While there are a lot of different reasons why you might want to create a living trust, one key reason is that this trust can make life easier for your heirs or beneficiaries after you have passed away. You can give us a call to get personalized advice on whether the creation of a trust could help your loved ones after you are gone. You can also read on to find out a few key reasons why your heirs or beneficiaries might prefer to inherit assets held in a living trust after you pass on.
Why Would Your Heirs Prefer to Inherit Property in a Living Trust?
When you have created a revocable living trust, your heirs or beneficiaries can inherit through the trust administration process instead of inheriting through the probate process. The assets that are held in the trust can be passed through trust administration while other assets will typically pass through probate unless you made other arrangements such as creating pay-on-death accounts.
Your heirs or beneficiaries would typically be better off inheriting through the trust administration process for many reasons, including the following:
- Enhanced privacy: If your assets have to transfer through the probate process, then information about the inheritance you provide to loved ones can become court record. Court records are generally public records, so others could find out details about who receives an inheritance and what amount of money and property is transferred.
- Lower costs: The probate process typically costs around three percent to six percent of the value of the estate, according to Investopedia. This is a lot of money that your loved ones would not inherit if all of this money has to be paid to costs and fees. The trust administration process is less expensive, so your loved ones can keep much more of your hard-earned wealth.
- A faster inheritance: It can take as long as 12 months for a typical probate proceeding to be completed, according to Investopedia. This is a long time for loved ones to wait for an inheritance and to be dealing with the aftermath of a death. When assets instead pass through the trust administration process, the transfer of wealth is much quicker. The whole process could be over in a matter of weeks. Your loved ones can get the money and property you leave to them much more quickly and can begin the process of moving on with their life after losing you.
You should be aware that a living trust doesn’t provide complete protection for the inheritance that you want to leave to loved ones. If you will owe estate tax because you have a large estate and are leaving money to someone other than your spouse, the living trust will not prevent the trust assets from being part of the taxable estate even though the assets do pass outside of the probate process. To get help determining the best tools you can use to provide the maximum protection for your wealth so you can leave the largest possible inheritance, you should work with an attorney to create a customized asset protection plan.
Getting Help from Living Trust Lawyers
Living trust lawyers at Frank & Kraft can provide personalized advice on trust creation, on creating an estate plan that best provides for your loved ones, and on taking steps to secure your legacy and ensure your family is cared for after you are gone. To find out more about the ways in which our firm can help with all of your estate planning issues, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 317-684-1100 or contact us online today.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
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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