The Living Trust (also and more accurately called a Revocable Living Trust) is a great vehicle for some people if they can handle the additional expense and time it takes to set one up.
A Living Trust handles property and assets both during life, like a General Power of Attorney, and after death, like a Last Will and Testament. What it can’t do is direct care of the person like a Health Care Power of Attorney can do, or nominate a guardian for children, like a Will can do.
The main attraction of the Living Trust for most people is that every asset in the trust escapes the Probate process. But beware….
You have to “fund” the Trust or your publicly-titled assets are still headed to probate! Funding your Trust means that you manually transfer certain assets into it. These include real estate (unless you hold it in Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship and wish to continue to do so), and vehicles, RVs, trailers and the like. The widowed spouse in a couple that have a Trust should transfer any real estate held in joint tenancy prior to their spouse’s passing into the trust or it will become a probate asset at the surviving spouse’s death.
So a Living Trust is more work and expense for the person creating it, but much easier on the heirs, while having only a Will and Powers of Attorney in place is easier on the person creating them, but harder and more expensive for the heirs (although the estate can actually pay those costs at death). Meet with us for an even more in-depth explanation, and an exploration as to whether getting a Living Trust drafted for you is a good idea or not. (It’s not an appropriate fit for everyone.)