How Difficult Is It To Do A Living Trust

Today I want to talk a little bit about the process of actually accomplishing the task of doing a Living Trust. The thought of it can be a bit intimidating for some people but I want to assure you that it really is quite simple. Let me take you through it.

The first thing that must happen is for you to sit down with your spouse and/or your children and consider how you want to leave your assets and who you want as power of attorneys, conservator, and successor trustees. Usually this is easy because in most cases those duties will be filled by your spouse. But you need to consider who will do the job if your spouse predeceases you. One or more of your children? A best friend?  Sister or Brother? All of these are possible because virtually anyone you trust can fill any one of those positions. You need to consider geographical proximity however, because you shouldn’t give the healthcare power of attorney to someone who lives across the country for instance. Trust of the person you are appointing is the most important consideration. Who do you trust with your very life... and your life’s savings? As I mentioned...your spouse and/or your most trusted child or children are the most common and best choice. Once you have made up your mind on those issues you go to the next easy step.

The interview with the preparer of your trust is the next step and in this interview, which can be by telephone or in person, you will be asked questions that are important in determining how your Living Trust is set up. This process is painless and takes less than an hour. Once the needed information is collected by the preparer you can set back and relax for four to six weeks while your trust is being prepared.

The next step is when your Living Trust arrives. Your local representative, if you worked with one, will either bring the Trust to you or make an appointment to meet with you soon after the Trust is delivered to you. You will need to have a notary and two witnesses (not related to you by blood) to execute the trust. So, bake a pie and put on the coffee pot and have some friends (to act as witnesses) over for a Trust signing party. Signing, witnessing and notarizing the Trust is what you accomplish at this step (execution of the trust) and it is very important because your Trust has no effect until this step is accomplished. It will take about an hour out of your evening. Once this step is done you have what amounts to a Will in Trust form. If you stop here all your assets will still go through Probate because they have not yet been placed into the Trust. The next step is the most important of all.

To avoid Probate and realize the full benefit from your Trust you need to “Fund” it. That means you need to place all your asset and personal property into the Trust. This is done by changing the name on all your assets that have a public title...like your home, your cars, your stocks and bonds, your bank accounts and so forth. None of this is difficult to do. You take your executed Trust down to your bank and tell them you want to place your accounts in the Trust. They know what to do and will take care of it for you. You are now the Trustee on your bank accounts. You do what you have always done when you sign a check except you put “Trustee” behind your name.  Itemize and write a description of your "personal property"...things of significant value to you...into your Trust to show your intention of placing them in the Trust. You change the name on your stock account to the name of the Trust and have new stock certificates (if you hold actual stock certificates) issued in the name of the Trust. This takes a little time but its not hard and you get full and complete instructions in your Trust package on how to accomplish all this. Once you have completed the funding step you are pretty much done. Everything you funded into the Trust or listed in the Trust is now protected from Probate. Anything leave outside the trust may go through Probate so be careful to place all your assets of value into the Trust.

You will want to put your Living Trust in a safe place and give your successor trustee the provided copy of the power of attorneys, and healthcare directives so they can act on your behalf in an emergency without having to go to your home and search for your Trust. I discourage putting your Trust in a bank safety deposit box because your loved ones may not be able to gain access to the box without your signature.

You’re done! Not hard, not complicated, easy to accomplish. The main thing is to be diligent in the task until it is completed. Now you can rest assured that everything is taken care of. Delaying in preparing a Living Trust is a “strike one, your out” situation. Too late is too late. Once that accident or illness or death occurs you can’t go back and do a Trust. The best approach is do it now while you are thinking about it so that you can rest easy knowing that you will never be caught unprepared at a time when you are grieving your loved one or needing assistance yourself.

If you would like to consult regarding this process or your situation, please feel free to contact us at 888-437-8778

A recorded Living Trust Presentation is available by telephone at:
866-927-8552

Our website
www.heritagelivingtrust.com


Until Next Time...