What Can A Revocable Trust Do For Your Estate Plan?
Trusts only seem complex to those who are not familiar with them. Not only are they simple, but they make a great addition to a last will and testament. For many, a trust may even rise to be the centerpiece of your estate plan. To find out more about a revocable trust, it might be helpful to compare it to a last will and testament. After finding out more, you may want to make an appointment with your estate attorney to have this type of estate vehicle added to your plan.
A Revocable Trust Can Be Similar to a Will
Both are legal documents that cover plans for after death. However, it should be mentioned that a trust can also help someone who is incapable of making important decisions before they pass away. When it comes to dealing with estate property, a revocable trust can deal with any type of property that a will can. The trust will "hold" all estate assets just like a will does and then it also lets the owner assign a beneficiary to each asset. Finally, although many legal experts don't advise adding conditions to a will, many people do. Fortunately, those who want to place conditions on an inheritance can do so far easier in a trust. For example, you might decide that your son can only inherit a piece of land if they complete a bachelor's degree. Wills and revocable trusts can also be altered at any time prior to the death of the benefactor.
A Revocable Trust Can be Better Than a Will
Let us examine the ways that a revocable trust may be far superior to a last will and testament. For one thing, it's private. Wills are filed in the county probate court and are considered public information. A trust is private with only the author and the trustee knowing the full contents. The trustee serves a similar role as that of an executor, personal representative, or administrator.
A trust keeps the will out of probate court. All estates must be probated, even those in which the deceased died without a will. However, trusts are exempt from probate court because they are considered contracts. Probate may be inevitable, but if you can keep as much property as possible away from the probate court, you can move forward with dispersing the inheritances in a timelier manner. Probate court has always been slow and is even slower now because of the pandemic. Any assets placed into a revocable trust do not have to be probated at all.
To find out more, speak to an estate attorney.