The difference between a will and a trust is when they come into action. A will sets out your wishes for after your death. A living revocable trust comes into effect. As long as you're alive you can be in charge of your trust.
Trusts are frequently used in estate planning. Living trusts created during the life of the grantor facilitate the transfer of assets to heirs without the cost and publicity of the estate. Trust transfers are usually faster and more efficient than will transfers. These fiduciary transfers allow grantors to maintain privacy with respect to the nature and value of their assets.
They can be used to maintain the confidentiality of different values of assets transferred to different heirs. Ensuring the privacy of family businesses and real estate held through entities not publicly identified with their owners are additional reasons for using trusts. A will does not take effect until after your death, while a living trust is active once it is created and financed. A living trust is more expensive to establish than a typical will because it must be actively managed after its creation.
However, the most important thing is that a living trust is of no use unless. The main function of wills and trusts is to name the beneficiaries of your property. In a will, you simply describe the property and list who should get it. When using a trust, you must do so and also transfer ownership to the trust.
See Transfer of Ownership to Trust, below. The will would specify the beneficiaries of any property or debt that is not in the trust, along with their preferences for who should take guardianship of their minor children. Trusts often make it easier to distribute assets than wills, but they are usually more expensive to establish. Whether a living trust is better for you than a will depends on whether the additional options it offers are worth it.
Making a will or trust, drafting a power of attorney and power of attorney for health care, and appointing a financial power of attorney are all ways to ensure that you or your spouse are carrying out plans for your estate. Some people think that using primarily a will rather than a living trust is more efficient in the long run, because it is easy to transfer assets into or out of your estate when they are owned by you in your name. Wealthy individuals and institutions often use irrevocable trusts to protect money from taxes or creditors, and irrevocable trusts are much more complicated than the revocable type. Whether or not you need a living trust depends on your age, how rich you are, and whether you are married.
While both wills and trusts are estate planning vehicles to help you manage your affairs, there are key differences you need to understand before deciding if one, or both, works best for your situation. Your decision to use a will or trust, or both, should depend on the nature and value of your assets, the seniority and capabilities of your heirs, tax planning considerations, and the complexity of your legacies. Some lenders only review the living trust agreement, while others may have the grantor withdraw ownership from the trust during the refinance process. After your death, trust property is managed and distributed according to the terms of the trust.
Only beneficiaries and, in some states, heirs, whether or not they are beneficiaries of the trust, have access to trust records. If a grantor transfers assets to an irrevocable trust for the benefit of third parties or purposes and has relinquished all control, rights and benefits with respect to assets and jurisdictions, courts generally consider the assets to be beyond the reach of the grantor's creditors. In a living trust, you can name your spouse, partner, child or other trusted person to have authority over the trust assets if you become incapacitated and unable to manage your own affairs. However, since the grantor retains control of the trust while it is alive, the assets are included in the grantor's taxable estate.
The grantor appoints a trustee to administer those assets on behalf of the grantor or designated beneficiaries. . .
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