If you are looking into estate planning, then you might have come across a living trust and a probate. Compared to a probate, a living trust is a lot easier and less complex to work on than a probate. Nonetheless, it would be in your best interests if you have a living trust attorney in Los Angeles to help you.
What is a living trust?
A living trust is a kind of document in estate planning that allows the trust creator or settler to transfer his estate to his beneficiaries without going through probate. In other words, it’s supposed to bypass the whole probate process.
There are three parties in a living trust – the trust creator, the trustee, and the beneficiaries. The trust creator is the one who sets up the fund and who has assets, rights, and properties to give to the beneficiaries when he or she passes away. The trustee, on the other hand, is the one who is given authority to manage the trust when the trust creator passes away.
A lot of people are considering going for a living trust than a probate because once you die, your estate is easily transferred to your beneficiaries without going under the scrutiny and tedious process of probate. This is especially convenient if you are transferring property.
But even if living trusts are convenient, it has certain limitations. An example would be you not being able to have a say on who the guardian will be for your children in a living trust.
What does a living trust attorney do?
The primary responsibility of a living trust attorney is to aid you in writing a living trust document that is legal and valid. They will be helping you with the proper legal terms and actions so that you can easily carry out your living trust.
A living trust document is similar to a will except that there are certain things you cannot say there. Just remember that the living trust is for transferring estates only, so anything beyond that you want to say or authorize your beneficiaries should not be written there.
Benefits of Hiring a Living Trust Attorney
Although a lot of people consider setting up a living trust easy, not all situations are simple. If you find yourself in a sticky situation regarding your estate and the legality of transferring your properties, then an attorney would be the best person to consult with. Aside from that, here are some more benefits.
- They can guide you through complex estate planning
Say, you have a lot of properties and some of them have their own issues. Setting up a living trust would then be more complicated than usual. The whole estate planning is difficult in itself so to make sure that you are leaving the best to your beneficiaries, a living trust attorney should be present. To add to that, a lawyer will help you save more in taxes. Since living trust shies away from probate, you can have fewer expenses in tax.
- They guide you in writing the document that is legal and valid
To ensure that you are doing it right and your living trust document will be valid, you would need a living trust attorney to aid in legal jargon. Their expertise and knowledge of the laws of your state will help you draft a document that specifies the beneficiaries and what will be given to them.
Having someone “proofread” your document for legality would be a good prevention effort because you wouldn’t have to worry about finding out later on that the document is invalid. In this case, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
- They will help you keep your properties private
This is one of the advantages of getting a living trust in the first place. Since you won’t go under probate, your estate will not be open to the public nor will it be in any public record. So, if you want to keep your affairs private, getting a living trust would be the best option. In this case, a living trust attorney will help you maintain the privacy of the trust and to keep your documents from public scrutiny.
These three benefits will then help you be more prepared for the future. At the same time, you get to be prepared with minimal effort.
