Why Should I Use a Living Trust

ANNAPOLIS • MILLERSVILLE • BOWIE • WALDORF
WHY SHOULD I USE A LIVING
TRUST?

DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS

People often make assumptions
about estate planning that are
not accurate.

One of them is the notion that you
cannot benefit from a trust if you
are not extraordinarily wealthy.

This is really not the case.

AN EFFECTIVE ESTATE
PLANNING TOOL

There is a type of trust that can be
useful for reasonably successful
people who are not among the
financial elite.

This would be the revocable living
trust.

NO WORRIES
Another misconception that people sometimes
entertain is the idea that you lose all control of
assets that you convey into a trust.

For this reason, they shy away from
the possibility of trust creation.

In fact, you maintain full control of
assets that you convey into a
revocable living trust.

You can act as the trustee and the
beneficiary, and you can revoke the
trust entirely if you ever choose to
do so.

INCAPACITY

A significant percentage of elders
become unable to handle their own
finances at some point in time.

Incapacity can strike as a result of
various different causes, but
Alzheimer's disease is very common
among the oldest old.

When you have a living trust, you
could empower a disability trustee
to manage the trust if you ever
become incapacitated.

SUCCESSORS
As we have stated, you can act as the
trustee and the beneficiary while you are
alive and well.

Ultimately, you want the assets in
the trust to go to your heirs after
your passing.

In the trust declaration, you name a
successor trustee to administer the
trust after you are gone.

You also name successor
beneficiaries.

SELECTING A TRUSTEE

You may naturally assume that you
should name someone that you
know personally to act as the
trustee after you pass away.

This is perfectly allowable, but
many people will use a corporate
trustee.

Banks and trust companies offer
trust administration services, and
this is an option that is available
to you.

DISTRIBUTIONS

You control the nature of the
distributions that will go to the
beneficiaries after your death.

If you want to, you can have the
trustee distribute limited ongoing
income over an extended period of
time.

This would prevent your loved ones
from spending their inheritances
too quickly.

ASSET PROTECTION

While you are alive, assets in a
living trust would not be protected
from creditors or litigants.

However, after you die, the trust
would become irrevocable.

You could include a spendthrift
provision, and there would be a
level of asset protection for the
successor beneficiaries.

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE
ACTION?

If you are interested in the
possibility of creating a living trust,
our firm can help.

Give us a call or send us a message
through our website if you would
like to set up a consultation.

Or visit our website
www.sinclairprosserlaw.com
Nicole Livingston
Jon J. Gasior
Colleen SinclairProsser
Victor A. Lembo

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