Trust Lawyer Cherry Hill, NJ
When people start estate planning, the most common type of trust that comes to mind is a revocable living trust. But, while a Revocable Trust has many uses, asset protection is not one of them. A Revocable Living Trust is entirely available to your creditors.
If you have a large number of assets and are worrying about a future, potential lawsuit, it would be recommended for you to contact a trust lawyer Cherry Hill, NJ has confidence in to help create an irrevocable trust. There are many types of irrevocable trusts, but these are the types of trusts that protect from your future creditors.
So, if you put your assets in a trust, do they work in bankruptcy to change the rights of the creditors after the money and the debtors who owe the money? If you are concerned about losing your hard-earned assets to creditors, it is recommended to speak with NJ trust lawyer from Klenk Law.
Revocable Trusts
A revocable trust is known also as a living trust. The person who is putting their assets in the trust creates the revocable trust during his lifetime. The grantor, who creates the trust, can make changes to the trust at any time and even has the right to revoke the entire trust. A Cherry Hill, NJ trust lawyer can explain that the main appeal of a revocable trust is that the assets owned by the trust do not need to go through probate at the time of the grantor’s death. Instead, the terms outlined in the revocable trust determine who receives the assets in the trust. The title for any assets in a revocable trust will now read “John Smith, Trustee.” The asset would appear to be no longer in John’s possession but is now the Trust’s asset.
Revocable Trusts and Creditors
The same quality that makes a revocable trust so appealing, that it can be amended or revoked at any time, is the same quality that does not make it useful as a tool to protect your assets. The law states that if the grantor can revoke the trust, the grantor is still viewed, and treated by the law, as the owner of the assets. A revocable trust does not change anything in terms of the grantor’s exposure to their creditors. If bankruptcy schedules ask for a list of your assets, you are required to list the property in your revocable trust.
Irrevocable Trusts
An irrevocable trust is a living trust in which the trust cannot be modified or revoked at a time. The trust terms can state that assets are now unavailable to the grantor. With an irrevocable trust, you do receive protection for your assets, but you lose all flexibility. To determine if creating an irrevocable trust makes the most sense for your situation, it would be advisable to speak with an NJ trust lawyer to explore all your options.
There is a law against fraudulent transfers. This law protects creditors who have a claim against you at the same time you funded the irrevocable trust. The reasoning of this law is that you cannot get out of paying your debt by giving your property to a trust. State laws and the trust’s terms will decide the rights of creditors to money that is paid from an irrevocable trust.
Schedule a Consultation
You have worked hard to earn your assets. If you are worried that you could face creditors and want to protect your assets to pass them down to your future generations, you should contact Klenk Law to discuss all of your options. Read more about irrevocable trusts in my article New Jersey Irrevocable Trusts. We can work to help you find a suitable option to help keep your family taken care of for years to come.
Peter Klenk is the founding member of Klenk Law, a seven attorney boutique estate planning law firm. We serve clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota and Florida. Peter Klenk received his Masters in Taxation LL.M. from NYU Law School and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School. He served his country in the Navy JAGC during Desert Storm. Easy to talk to, feel free to call Peter for an appointment. We will make the process as easy as possible!
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I knew I needed to update my Estate Planning documents created 15 years ago, yet I kept putting it off. Peter, in his no pressure way nudged me to finally check it off my list. The admin staff of Klenk law were very respectful and responsive in working with me to set up dates and times that work for me to talk with Peter over the phone regarding what I wanted to update. Peter answered my questions and explained some things to me. This helped me on some of my estate decision. After our phone talk, I received a draft of the updated documents, and was allowed ample time to review them prior to a final review with Peter over the phone. This pre-signing reviews made the in-person signing time very short. I would highly recommend Klenk Law, because Peter and his staff were professional but friendly, and thorough in the estate planning work they did for me. Thank you, Peter!
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Very friendly and easy to work with - definitely a better experience than I've had with other lawyers! Peter is very detailed and thorough. I've worked on previous versions of my will with other lawyers, and he pointed out things they'd never mentioned. Fast turnaround and very responsive to emails and phone calls.
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