Reasons to Consider Implementing a Trust

Today’s most common estate planning strategy is to create a will that pours your assets over into a revocable trust. When you pass away, any assets you hold solely in your name become part of your estate. The will provides instructions to your personal representative to transfer those assets to the trustee of your trust. Depending on how you decide to structure your estate plan, the personal representative and trustee may be the same person.

Here are just a few examples of some of the biggest benefits of using a living trust as part of your estate plan:

• Protect minors: Trusts will hold assets for your minor children until they are old and responsible enough to take over the management of those assets themselves. You can also structure how assets are disbursed for a certain period after they reach adulthood.
• Reduce taxes: If you are married and are close to the federal estate tax exemption threshold, trusts can help you save money on potential estate taxes.
• Avoid probate: This is perhaps the single-biggest reason why trusts are so common in estate plans. Trust assets pass directly to beneficiaries rather than having to go through the probate process, which can become long and complex.
• Ensure privacy: When wills are probated, they can become accessible through the public record. This includes the nature and value of assets and who inherits them. Trusts, however, can be private documents and their contents will not be put on public record.
• Keep assets in the family: With a trust you can have the trustee control trust assets for a longer period of time.

For more information about the benefits of a living trust, contact a knowledgeable Tampa, FL estate planning attorney at BaumannKangas Estate Law.