Living trust attorneys help you to determine if you need a trust and provide guidance on the type of trust that is best for your specific situation. For 30 years the law firm of Parman & Easterday has provided assistance to many families in creating trusts that protect assets and provide for loved ones. We can work closely with you to discuss your estate planning goals and to create a trust that works to achieve your plans.
Your reasons for creating a trust are unique to you, and there is never any substitute for personalized legal advice when it comes to something as important as the use of trusts in your asset protection plan, your incapacity plan, or your legacy plan. However, there are a few common reasons why many people would likely benefit from the creation of a living trust. Here are five of those key reasons.
1. A Living Trust Provides Flexibility
When you make a living trust, you can name yourself as the trustee and, if it is revocable, continue to retain control over the wealth that you transferred to the trust. You can also modify or revoke the trust if you want to, at any time, in part or in whole. These features make a living trust distinguishable from an irrevocable trust. However, they can also be considered a downside, because your high levels of continuing control over trust assets do not give you the same asset protections that other types of trusts do.
2. A Living Trust Provides Protection In Case Of Incapacity
If you become incapacitated and you haven’t used the right legal tools to prepare for this occurrence, your family could be forced to initiate court proceedings to have a guardian or conservator named. This process takes time. During that period, proper management of your assets can become an issue. If not, the court could then appoint a person to serve as a conservator. You may have strong objections about that person’s trustworthiness or ability to manage assets appropriately. All this could be avoided if you used a living trust, transferred trust assets into it, and gave a responsible backup trustee authority to act to manage the trust assets if something were to happen to you.
However, it is important to note that because of the continued control you retain over assets in a revocable living trust, any assets held within the trust will typically be a countable asset in determining your eligibility for means-tested Medicaid. This means that if you are incapacitated and need nursing home care, you may be ineligible for Medicaid coverage and forced to pay for nursing home care out of pocket unless you have an optional long-term care insurance policy.
3. A Living Trust Allows for the Fast and Efficient Transfer of Assets
The probate process, which is the process by which most assets transfer after a death, can take around a year, or longer, according to Investopedia. This may seem like a very long time when loved ones are waiting for an inheritance — especially if they were counting on the inheritance to provide for them once you are no longer there to provide.
4. A Living Trust Can Help To Save On Costs
The costs of probate can total around three percent to seven percent of the estate, as Investopedia explains. This means that it could cost a lot for a will to be probated. This can be avoided if you make a living trust and assets are able to be transferred through the trust administration process instead of probate.
5. A Living Trust Can Help You To Keep Financial Affairs Private
When you have a will probated, your financial affairs and the gifts you have hoped to leave behind to loved ones generally become public. This is often an undesirable outcome. When assets transfer through the trust administration process, there is no need to worry about your personal financial information becoming court or public record because the trust administration process takes place outside of court unless some type of problem arises.
Getting Help From Living Trust Attorneys
Living trust attorneys at Parman & Easterday can assist you in determining if any of these reasons apply to your situation. We can also help you to explore other reasons why you might want to create a living trust or why you might want to create another type of trust the works better for you.
To find out more about the different kinds of trusts our legal team can help you to create, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call today at (405) 843-6100 or contact us online if you are ready for personalized help creating a trust to protect the people you love and the wealth that you have worked so hard to acquire.
Since founding Parman & Easterday in 1985, Larry has led over 1,000 free, community-service education programs and helped more than 10,000 Oklahoma families go from putting off their estate plan to getting it done. His goal for every client is the same: to become the person their family calls "the one who took care of everything."
Larry is the author of three books: The Straight Shooter's Guide to Estate Planning; Estate Planning Basics; and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma. He served as Oklahoma's Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce, and his firm is the only member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys in the state.
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