Examples of Revocable Trusts

From Our “Ask a Question” Mailbag: “Can you provide examples of Revocable Trusts being used successfully?”

Revocable Trust Lawyer Kelly Barse.

Examples of Revocable Trusts Being Used Successfully:

To begin, I am assuming that you are somewhat familiar with Revocable Trusts.  If you are not, or if you wish to refresh your memory, follow this link for a quick Revocable Trust Review.  This page will be ready and waiting once you have the basics firmly in place.

Real Estate in Several Different States.

• Mr. and Mrs. Philadelphia own a house in Center City Philadelphia, Avalon New Jersey, Denver Colorado and Naples, Florida. To manage these properties if they both were to die, their two children would have to open probate in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Colorado, and Florida. Creating a Revocable Trust avoids this combined administrative process and the cost associated with four separate probates. Mr. and Mrs. Philadelphia have us draft a joint revocable trust. They have us move the deeds into the revocable trust. At their deaths, their two children become trustees. The successor trustees can then manage the properties immediately. Because the trust owns the property…and didn’t die…it continues to hold the properties. Probate is avoided. 

Privacy.

• Mr. Doylestown wishes to keep his estate’s details private. He has seen that nosey neighbors have visited the Bucks County Register of Wills to read other peoples’ wills.  Wills, once filed, is open to the public.  Wanting to keep his business private, he has us draft a Revocable Trust.  Mr. Doylestown arranges his assets, so they are either in the trust or pour into the trust at his death.  At his death, he names his lawyer successor trustee.  This way, when he dies, his estate planning lawyer immediately becomes the successor trustee. The attorney gathers his assets and follows Mr. Doylestown’s instructions. His assets pass as he wishes, but the details remain private.

Avoiding Probate.

• Mr. Naples lives in Florida. He wants his daughter, Pensacola, to be in charge of his estate.  He has correctly heard that Florida probate is complicated and expensive compared to other states (like New Jersey or Pennsylvania.) Wishing to make the process as easy as possible, he had our office create a Florida Revocable Living Trust.  We move his real estate and accounts into the trust. At his death, there is no need to file a will with the surrogate’s office. This process avoids probate, and his daughter manages his estate efficiently from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.  Pensacola completed the estate without once traveling to Florida.

In Conclusion: Examples of Revocable Trusts.

I hope this article providing Examples of Revocable Trusts. We are always happy to brainstorm with you about your own, unique situation. 

Let our Estate Planning Lawyers help walk you through what can be a confusing process. To begin with, call to speak to one of our Estate Planning Attorneys.  By all means, our lawyers are ready to answer your questions. In fact, feel free to contact our office for a free consultation. Ultimately our goal is to make the process as painless as possible!

Wills, Trusts, Probate, and Estate Litigation, It’s All We Do!