Why is a Living Trust better than a power of attorney?
Living trust is often recommended to clients as the key document in their estate plan. One reason for this is that the living trust is normally the best method for managing assets during incapacity. A major advantage of the living trust over the power of attorney is that a trustee has actual title to the assets and therefore third parties must deal with the trustee as the owner. An agent does not have title and hence third parties may refuse to deal with the agent. This is particularly true if the power of attorney is more than a few years old.
We often recommend clients use living trusts as the key documents in their estate plans. One reason for this is that the living trust is normally the best method for managing assets during incapacity. A major advantage of the living trust is that the trustee has actual title to the assets and third parties must deal with the trustee as the owner. A designated agent does not have title and third parties may refuse to deal with the agent. This is particularly true if the power of attorney is more than a few years old.
A Living trust is often recommended to clients as the key document in their estate plan. One reason for this is that the living trust is normally the best method for managing assets during incapacity. A major advantage of the living trust over the power of attorney is that a trustee has actual title to the assets and therefore third parties must deal with the trustee as the owner. An agent does not have title and hence third parties may refuse to deal with the agent. This is particularly true if the power of attorney is more than a few years old.
