Suze Orman and others are big proponents of living trusts. Do I really need one?
It would probably be a waste of your time and money. With a revocable living trust you transfer legal title of assets to a trustee (usually yourself), who manages them according to your instructions set out in the trust document on behalf of beneficiaries you name. Why would you do this? The first reason is that these assets will not go through probate when you die, but directly to your heirs. Probate is a legal proceeding for settling an estate, but in most states — California is one exception — it is neither drawn-out nor expensive. Most of your assets would likely escape probate anyway. That’s the case with jointly held property, pension benefits, life insurance, government bonds, and bank and brokerage accounts with a pay-on-death beneficiary. Another reason cited for having a living trust is that you’ll save on taxes. Not so. Because all living trusts are revocable, income from trust assets is taxable to you. Finally, it’s true that you can name a successor trustee to manage you
