How does a living trust avoid probate and prevent court control of assets at incapacity?
When you set up a Living Trust, you transfer assets from your name to the name of your Trust, which you control. Legally you no longer own anything (because everything now belongs to your Trust), so there is nothing for the courts to control when you die or become incapacitated. The concept is very simple, but this is what keeps you and your family out of the courts.
When you set up a Living Trust, you transfer assets from your name to the name of your trust, which you control. All the assets transferred are no longer your property and are not subject to Probate when you die, and are not subject to Court-imposed guardianship if you become disabled. The concept is very simple, but this is what keeps you and your family out of the Courts. Do I lose control of the assets in my Trust? Absolutely not. You keep full control. As trustee of your Trust, you can do anything you could do before – buy/sell assets, change or even cancel your Trust during your lifetime. You even file the same tax returns. Nothing changes but the title of your assets. Is it hard to transfer my assets into my Trust? No, it is very simple. Your attorney, banker, Trust officer, financial advisor, investment broker, insurance agent, etc. can assist you, if need be. Make sure you change titles on all real estate and other property with formal titles. Most Trust documents automatically
When you set up a living trust, you transfer assets from your name to the name of your trust, which you control – such as from “Bob and Sue smith, husband and wife” to “Bob and Sue Smith, trustee under trust dated (month/day/yeah).” Legally you no longer own anything (don’t panic: everything now belongs to your trust), so there is nothing for the courts to control when you die or become incapacitated. The concept is very simple, but this is what keeps you and your family out of the courts. Do I lose control of the assets in my trust? Absolutely not. You keep full control. As trustee of your trust, you can do anything you could do before – buy/sell assets, change or even cancel your trust (that’s why it’s called a revocable living trust). You even file the same tax returns. Nothing changes but the names on the titles. Is it hard to transfer assets into my trust? No, and your attorney, trust officer, financial adviser and insurance agent can help. You need to change titles on real estate
