Tampa Revocable Living Trust Attorney
Living trusts are also known as simply revocable trusts or inter-vivo trusts and they are important estate planning tools. Revocable living trusts have several benefits for you, as well as your beneficiaries. However, there are some drawbacks that you must consider, as well. Below, our Tampa revocable living trust attorney explains more about these important documents and the factors to consider when executing one.
What is a Revocable Living Trust?
A revocable living trust is a legal document that you fund with assets. Throughout your lifetime, you can manage the property within the trust and have the right to manage, sell, and gift it. You also name beneficiaries of the trust and after you pass away, they will receive the property left for them in the trust.
As the person who creates the trust, you are known as the grantor or the settlor. The trustee will manage the assets within a trust and grantors often name themselves as the trustee. It is also important to name a successor trustee. This individual will manage the trust after you pass away, or if you become incapacitated in the future and can no longer manage the trust. Of course, you should choose a successor trustee you fully trust to manage the property properly and according to your wishes.
Once you have created a revocable living trust, you then have to fund it. Funding a trust simply means placing property into it. After the trust has been funded, the trustee can then manage the property as though it was in their name. Trustees can purchase and sell property, draw from brokerage accounts, and withdraw money in the name of the trust.
It is fairly easy to terminate or modify the terms of a revocable living trust after it has been created. This is very different from irrevocable trusts, which are much more difficult to modify.
What are the Benefits of a Revocable Living Trust?
Creating a revocable living trust has many benefits. These include:
- Flexibility: Revocable living trusts give you the ability to change it fairly easily. You can change your successor trustee, add or remove beneficiaries, and make other modifications.
- Benefits to beneficiaries: Revocable living trusts are not subject to the lengthy and expensive probate process. By properly executing a revocable trust, you can streamline the process, allowing your beneficiaries to receive any inheritance you left them right away.
- Confidentiality: Drafting a last will and testament is important but it will still have to be proved during probate, which makes it a matter of public record. Due to the fact that trusts do not pass through probate, the details of them remain confidential.
Call Our Revocable Living Trusts Attorney in Tampa Today
A revocable living trust can protect you and your beneficiaries, but it is important that they are executed properly. At BBDG Law, our Tampa revocable living trusts attorney can help you draft the formal document and fund it so you and your family are protected. Call us now at (813) 221-3759 or contact us online to schedule a consultation and to learn more.