6 Advantages Of A Revocable Living Trust

1.  Avoid Probate With A Trust!

Probate is the Court procedure used to administer your estate when you die with a Will or even without a Will.  Probate involves many duties, including the following: taking control of the estate of a person who is deceased; determining what property exists and which debts to pay; deciding what assets should be sold or retained; determining the existence and validity of the decedent’s last will; and identifying and locating heirs.  That’s why Probate is costly and time consuming.

2.  Avoid High Probate Attorney’s Fees And Costs

An average attorney’s fee for Probate ranges from a very low fee of $2,500.00 for very small estates, to $15,000.00-$25,000.00 and even much more, depending on the size of your estate. Court filing fees are generally between $400.00 and $500.00 and publishing the Notice of Probate as required by Law costs another $150.00.  And a typical Probate case can take between 10 months to several years.  Moreover, a Probate is public so all of your family business is out in the open where anyone can see.  So as you can see, a Probate can be expensive and can tie up your estate for months and even years at a time when your family and beneficiaries will most need it. And it’s not private. Most people don’t know that having a Will DOES NOT avoid Probate.  In fact, if you have a Will when you die, that Will MUST be filed in the Probate Court.

What’s The Alternative To Having A Will That Goes Into Probate? A Revocable Living Trust!

Talk to The Mendez Law Firm… an experienced East Orlando estate planning attorney about drafting a Revocable Living Trust for you and your family.  A Revocable Living Trust is a very popular estate planning tool used to avoid Probate.  A Revocable Living Trust eliminates the need for a Will.

And your property and assets can be transferred into your Revocable Living Trust to hold until you pass away.  That’s a process called “funding your Trust.”  When you have a Revocable Living Trust and you fund it properly, your property and assets can be easily transferred to your heirs when you pass.  The transfer of property and assets at death is dramatically simplified and takes much less time.  If you have a properly funded Revocable Living Trust, there is no Court involvement, like there would be if you instead had a Will.  With a properly funded Revocable Living Trust, you completely AVOID PROBATE!

3.  You Still Control All Of Your Assets With A Revocable Living Trust

Persons who establish a Trust are called the “Grantors” or “Settlors”.  You and your spouse are typically named as the Grantors of your Revocable Living Trust.  That means that you and your spouse control all of the property and assets that you place inside of your Trust.  You can sell, transfer, and give away any of your property and assets inside of your Trust at any time before you die. And you can even revoke your Revocable Living Trust at any time, add more property and assets to it, and even amend it at any time as well while you’re alive. In a Trust, you still have full control over all of your assets until you die.

4.  Trust Administration Is A Simpler Process Than Probate

Upon your death, your Trustee can simply transfer your property and assets to the beneficiaries you have named in your Trust.  The entire process is private.  The Probate Court DOES NOT get involved.  And the process of handling your estate when you die takes a lot less time than does Probate.  So the fees and costs in the administration of your Trust is far less than for a Probate.

5.  A Trust Works Just Like A Will 

The person you name as your Trustee is required by Law to manage and administer the Trust only for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the Trust, as you have instructed in the Trust. That process continues until you and your spouse (the Grantors of the Trust) pass away.  At the death of the Grantor (if a single person), or the surviving spouse if the Grantors are a married couple, the successor trustee named by you then continues to administer your Trust by transferring your remaining assets, in the way that you instructed, to your beneficiaries such as your minor children, adult children, other family members, or any other designated persons or charities that you have named in your Trust; all without having to get permission from the Probate Court. Your Trust can EVEN include provisions for the creating of further trusts for minor children, young adults or disabled beneficiaries.

6.  A Trust Can Reduce Taxes

A Revocable Trust can also incorporate appropriate federal estate tax planning provisions and can sometimes be used as a vehicle to reduce or eliminate taxes on potential capital gains after your death.

And in the case of a married couple, each spouse can take advantage of the maximum unified estate and gift tax credit and can shelter large amounts in asset value from costly estate taxes.

Your East Orlando Estate Planning attorney can review your Estate Planning and Revocable Living Trust questions with you. Call The Mendez Law Firm at (407)380-7724 or email us at mail@themendezlawfirm.com . The Estate Planning consultation is FREE, and there is NO obligation. 

Conveniently located in the East Orlando area. Call The Mendez Law Firm TODAY at (407)380-7724 or email us at mail@themendezlawfirm.com to schedule your FREE Estate Planning and Revocable Living Trust consultation. Copyright © 2020. The Mendez Law Firm, L.L.C. All rights reserved.