Living Trusts, Asset Protection and Other Issues

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Living Trusts, Asset Protection, and Other Issues
Commonly Asked Questions And Answers
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 Living Trusts What is a living trust? Also
known as an inter vivos trust, a revocable living
trust is a legal entity. Even though it doesnt
exist outside of a piece of paper, the law allows
it to own property.
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Creation How do I make a revocable living
trust? You sit down with your estate planning
attorney and draft a document called a trust
instrument. The trust instrument has to contain
specific details as required by law.
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Trust Operation and Management What does my
trust do? Your living trust can own any of the
property you transfer to it. When you create the
trust, you will have to decide who can use that
property, who must manage it, and who inherits
after you die.
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Trustee Who will manage the trust? You have to
appoint a trustee to manage your revocable living
trust. This trustee can be almost anybody, but
its usually you.
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Beneficiaries Who gets to use the living trust
property? You do. In addition to creating the
revocable living trust, and serving as the
trustee, you will also retain the benefits of
being able to use and control your property.
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Asset Protection Will my living trust help me
avoid taxes or other risks? No. Revocable living
trusts do not give you any tax benefits, nor do
they protect your property from lawsuits or other
potential risks. If asset protection is important
you, you need tools other than a living trust.
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Other Asset Protection Tools What other tools
are available for asset protection? That depends
on your circumstances, but these tools often
include different types of trusts, known as
irrevocable trusts, as well as different types of
business structures, such as limited liability
companies.