A Bespoke Revocable Trust Can Protect Your Legacy

Getting your estate plan in order is an important step that everyone should take, no matter your point in life. When you are considering how you want to establish your estate plan, consider speaking with attorney Gregory L. Heidt. I am a skilled and experienced estate planning lawyer who works closely with my clients, and I have a reputation for effective and efficient solutions tailored to my clients needs. In my 40 years of assisting the people of Erie, Pennsylvania, one of the tools that I utilize to assist my clients in planning their estate is the creation of a revocable trust, also known as a living trust, changeable trust or an inter vivos trust.

How A Revocable Trust Can Help You

A revocable trust is a trust that you can create and transfer property into and which you can designate yourself as the beneficiary. During your lifetime, you can then benefit from the trust assets. Other advantages include:

Bypassing Probate

All assets in a revocable trust are exempt from your estate, and therefore are not required to go through probate court, saving time and fees that your estate would otherwise spend on probating your will, so that your assets can be quickly bequeathed to your heirs.

Giving You Greater Control And Privacy

A revocable trust allows you to remain in complete control of your assets until you pass it along to your heirs, and because it does not undergo court distribution it is never subjected to public scrutiny. You can also provide for beneficiaries such as minor children who cannot manage their inheritance themselves by having your successor trustee care for the trust assets. Under a will, you would need to appoint a separate guardian to manage the assets for any minor children.

A Contingency When You Are Incapacitated

A revocable trust can care for you if you become incapacitated by allowing an alternate trustee to take care of you and your property. A will by itself cannot protect you when you are incapacitated. A durable power of attorney could provide a similar function, but it would require an additional document for your estate plan.

Simple To Create And Centralize Your Assets

A revocable trust is easy to incorporate into your estate plan and is recognized under most states’ laws. In addition to their simplicity, a revocable trust can hold property from multiple states, avoiding the need to begin probate proceedings in those additional jurisdictions. If you are relying only on a will, then you will be submitting that will to probate in all of the jurisdictions where that property is held.

A revocable trust can be a very useful asset for you as one of the pillars of your estate plan. If you are interested in using one, you should speak with me to assist you in drafting on as part of your estate plan.

Limitations To Know For Revocable Trusts

There are some limitations that you should be aware of when you are creating a revocable trust. All income that is generated by the trust and paid to you is still taxable income, so you will not be avoiding any taxes by using this strategy. Additionally, a revocable trust can incur additional expenses for creating and maintaining it beyond what you would have without it. Finally, if you are seeking to place your assets beyond the access of your creditors, a revocable trust does not prevent them from accessing those assets.

Contact My Office Today For Help With Your Estate Plan

If you are curious about incorporating a revocable trust into your estate plan, or if you simply have general estate planning needs, I am happy to help you. Call my office at 814-580-9495 or you can complete my online contact form to send me a brief description of your issue.