Do I need a lawyer to make a living trust, Many people find that they can successfully set up their own living trust without any help of a lawyer. Making a living trust takes more work than writing a will because a living trust takes more work than writing a will because a living trust requires that you take the additional steps of transferring property into the trust. But like wills, living trusts are simple documents that do not require a lawyers blessing. for more information get in touch with business lawyer near me .
Do I need a lawyer to make a living trust
What a living trust entitles to
The main reason to set up living trust is to avoid probate. Probate is the process that court uses to distribute a deceased person’s property. Most people don’t need or want their estate to go through probate because it’s expensive and time consuming. Property that passes through a living trust does not have to go through probate.
Instead, the person named in the trust to be the trustee distributes the deceased person’s property without court oversight. For many people with simple estates, this is far better than paying the court thousands of dollars and waiting months or years for the court to make the same distributions.
But the same doesn’t apply for those who do not own a lot of property and are planning to leave everything behind, what would work better for them is a simple will rather than making a living trust. This is because many states have a quicker and easier probate process for small estates and for transfer to spouses. In these case drafting a living trust and transferring property into the trust maybe more trouble than it’s worth.
How to make your own living trust
Making your own living trust does not have to be complicated, though it may take a little work. Find quality self – help materials that will guide you through the process. There are books, software and online programs that can help you guide through the process. Make sure the tool you use explains the whole process in plain English.
It should guide you from step to step. If you use a form from a book or downloaded from the internet, you will need to fill in the blanks and chose which clause to include. If you are using online program or a software you will go through interview and the program will assemble the documents for you.
When to see a lawyer
While many people can make a living trust without the help of attorney, there are some situations which require individualize legal advice. For example, don’t try to make your own living trust if:
You don’t have anyone to name as trustee
The person you name as trustee will have control over your property without any oversight from the court system. That person should be someone you trust completely. If there is no one you feel comfortable naming as trustee, you may want your property to go through probate instead, so seek a lawyer’s advice in such a situation.
You have a lot of debts
Although probate has many downsides, it provides a process for dealing with creditors, and this can be a big benefit to those estates with a lot of debt. Probate gives creditors a set amount of time to make claim on the estate. Whereas, outside of probate a claim could be made many years after the property in the estate has been distributed to beneficiaries. If you have concerns about the creditors, see lawyer for advice on that matter.
You want to put conditions on your gifts
If you want to put restrictions on the property that passes to your beneficiaries, get help from a lawyer. Restrictions include any limitations on clear ownership. For example, you want your daughter to own the house, but your son to be able to live there until he gets married. Or you want to give your niece $10,000 when she turns 18, but only if she goes to college. It is possible to put these conditions on your gifts, but you should het an attorney’s help to do it.
You might owe estate taxes
Basic living trusts do nothing to avoid estate taxes. An estate must be worth $5,340,000 in 2014 and $5,430,000 in 2015 to trigger federal estate taxes, so the vast majority of people do not need to worry about this issue. However, several states also have estate taxes, and the exclusion tends to be lower – more like one or two million dollars. If you are worried about estates taxes because your estate is worth several million dollars seek a lawyer’s advice as he may guide you better then you could do on your own.
Minimize family drama
One of the major benefits of living trust is that you can designate your beneficiaries and dictate how they can use the assets they inherit. This gives you control over who benefits from your assets. For example you can set limit so that your child’s spouse whom you don’t like can never reach your child’s inheritance.
You can also put limits on how your assets are used if your spouse remarries after your death. A living trust is customizable to your needs and wants and will reduce family drama if you work with an attorney you feel comfortable disclosing your family dynamics too. A living trust attorney can help you navigate any family complications that you want to plan around in your living trust.
Help choosing between Revocable and Irrevocable
When you create a living trust with the help of a living trust attorney, you must decide if you’re going to create a revocable or irrevocable living trust. A revocable living trust can be changed during your lifetime while an irrevocable cannot. A living trust attorney has a lot of experience and understanding of the intricacies of living trust documents and can help guide you the right decisions based on your situation.
While it’s not a mammoth of a task to make your own living will you can do so with proper help and while you may find the job tricky and dicey always turn towards a lawyer as he has the experience in this field and will guide you proper decision making. Do not hesitate in showcasing your problems to us as we are there to help you out please visit our Online lawyer.