Blog & Resources

Pros and Cons of a Living Trust A living trust is just like a will. It is a legal document.  It spells out all of their desires regarding assets, dependents, and heirs. However, there are a few fundamental differences between a will and a living trust, and it is vital […]

Our “Ask a Question” mailbag addresses a question about Amending a Revocable Trust. “Is amending a Revocable Trust difficult? How do I go about amending a Revocable Trust I formed in 1998, as I have some necessary updates?”

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “After being diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s, I have been thinking about forming a Revocable Trust. Who pays the income tax on a Revocable Trust?”

A Revocable Living Trust can be a reliable tool in helping you manage your assets while suffering from Alzheimer’s. But, you should plan carefully and implement checks and balances.

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “I have been diagnosed with early stage Alzheimers. I have heard that setting up an “unfunded trust” for long-term care might be a good idea. What is an unfunded trust and how is a trustthat is unfunded useful?”

When planning for Alzheimers, the term “unfunded trust” refers to a Revocable Living Trust which you set up but in which you currently put no assets. Because it is currently not “funded” with any assets, we call it an “unfunded trust.”

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I had a Revocable Living Trust created several years ago, but I have not put anything into it. I own my Philadelphia home, a few bank accounts and investment accounts. I want everything to pass to my daughter at my death, but she lives in California, so I want the transfer to be easy. Should I move my house from my name into the Revocable Trust?

The goal you have stated in forming your Revocable Living Trust was to make things easier on your daughter who lives in California. Though your intentions are good, without moving the house into the trust you really have done nothing to help her.

The basic idea surrounding a Revocable Living Trust is that during your lifetime you either move your assets into the trust or you set things up so that at your death, they pour into the trust.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I have been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s and need to create a way to have my son assist me as the disease progresses. Can a Revocable Living Trust help my son assist me with my diminished capacity and against any creditors that may arise in the future?

You are wise to start planning now to address your Alzheimer’s. Most people put off this planning, and that rarely ends well.

Creating a Revocable Living Trust that names both you and your son as co-trustees, each able to act independently, is a good system to help prepare for the future.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I formed a Revocable Living Trust to avoid New York probate and named my two sons as the co-successor trustees. It seemed a good idea at the time, but now they are not speaking to one another. Should I change the trust?

Many New Yorkers have formed Revocable Living Trusts to avoid the expensive New York probate process. For the trust to work properly, after your death, you need a successor trustee to step in to pay your final bills, taxes and to then distribute the trust assets to your heirs.

I am a resident of Gloucester County, New Jersey. If I have recently formed a Revocable Living Trust and moved all my New Jersey assets into the trust, do I still need a will?

If the goal in forming your Revocable Living Trust was to avoid probate, then you must either transfer all your assets that would otherwise be Probate Assets into the trust during your lifetime or have them pour into the Revocable Trust at your death. That is often done by using a Payable on Death Account or naming the Trust as Beneficiary.

Trusts are becoming an ever more common part of our lives. You are not atypical any longer if you can talk about your Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts holding large life insurance policy on your life, or how you set up an Education Trusts to hold money earmarked for the education of generations of your family. But typically, the most likely trust that you would have is the Revocable Living Trust.

No matter what trust you form, there are three components. A Grantor who formed the trust, a Trustee who holds the asset, and the Beneficiary for whom the asset is held. In a Revocable Living Trust, the Grantor, Trustee and Beneficiary are all the same person. You form the trust, you transfer your assets to the trust and you hold them for your own benefit. For discussion about why you would form a Revocable Living Trust, please read my article Is a Revocable Living Trust Right for Me?.

If you are reading this Article, someone has likely told you that you need or should have a “Revocable Trust” or a “Living Trust”. In fact, you might have been told a horror story about what will happen if you do not have a Living Trust. You also might have attended a seminar where you were told that a Living Trust is a cure-all, and that for a certain dollar amount someone will draft a Revocable Living Trust for you and give it to you in a handsome, faux leather binder.

Is a Revocable Living Trust Right for you? Let me first give you some quick thoughts, then debunk some Revocable Living Trust myths and half truths. Finally, lets talk about the good things a Revocable Living Trust can do so you can deduce if the cost of setting up a Revocable Living Trust makes sense for you.