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A Revocable Living Trust is the best estate planning option for most people.

Revocable Living Trusts have become the most common estate planning tool, and for good reason.  They are the most flexible estate planning documents and when used properly they can allowing you to completely avoid probate.

Key Benefits of a Trust

• Avoid Probate
• Flexibility of Distribution to Beneficiaries
• Federal Estate Tax Reduction

Who Benefits most from a Trust

• Married couples
• Anyone leaving assets to a minor
• Blended families
• Anyone who wants to avoid probate

What is a Revocable Living Trust

Trust vs. Will

In some ways a revocable living trust is like a will, in others it is very different. 

A revocable living trust, like a will, allows you to name who is going to be responsible for managing your financial affairs after you have died.  It also allows you to designate who is going to receive your assets after you have died.

You cannot name a guardian for your children in a revocable living trust, this can only be done in a will.  Therefore, it is very important to create a will with your revocable living trust if you have minor children.

A revocable living trust allows you to be very flexible in how and when you distribute assets after you die.  The Probate Court has determined that when a child is 18 they are entitled to their full inheritance.  Many people believe that 18 is too young to receive a large sum of money.  A revocable living trust allows you to distribute the money when you think your children are old enough to make responsible decisions.

Where a will lets you designate who gets what, a trust lets you designate who gets what, when and how.  The "when" and "how" can allow you to be very creative in how assets are to be used while your children are growing up.  For example, you can specify that money can be used only for things like support and education expenses before a child reaches a designated age.

Probate Avoidance

One of the biggest advantages of a trust over a will is that a properly funded trust can allow you to completely avoid Probate.  By moving assets from your name into the name of your trust, you can eliminate the cost and hassle of probate after you die.

Federal Estate Taxes

Properly drafted and funded trusts can save married couples hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal estate taxes.  Because changes in federal estate tax law fewer and fewer people have to worry about federal estate taxes.  However, if your estate is worth more than 1.5 million dollars, revocable living trusts can save your heirs federal estate taxes.

Funding your Trust

A Revocable Living Trust only works if it is properly funded.  To avoid probate, your trust must be the owner or beneficiary of all of your assets.   All of the assistance you need in transferring your assets to your trust and changing beneficiaries is included in the price of your estate plan. 

We will provide whatever assistance is necessary to assist you in transferring assets and changing beneficiaries for as long as necessary to property fund your trust.  There is no additional cost for this service.

Pricing

TrustAnswers.com provides flat-rate pricing for estate planning services so you know how much your plan will cost before you begin.  This allows you to decide which plan works best for you and best fits your budget.  It also allows you to completely discuss your situation without having to worry about paying legal fees based on high hourly rates.  You get an estate plan tailored specifically for your needs at a price you can afford. 

The cost of a typical estate plan which includes a revocable living trust, pour-over will, power of attorney for financial matters and power of attorney for medical care decisions, together with all of the appointments needed to complete your estate plan, and all of the assistance you will need to properly transfer your assets into your trust is $1080.00. 

The cost is the same for a married couple or a single person.  Specifically, the cost for a married couple is $1080.00 total, not $1080.00 each.  This is because much of the time involved in creating an estate plan takes place during interviews and conversations with the attorney and therefore it takes about the same amount of time to create a plan for a married couple as it does for a single person.