Living Trust - Something To Think About

Do You Have A Living Trust?

Do you have a Living Trust?  It's something to think about.  And If you own your home, or plan to, or if you have children, or plan to, you should consider the creation of a  Living Revocable Trust.

Basically, A revocable living trust is a written agreement designating someone (can even be you), to be responsible for managing your property.

It's called a LIVING trust because it's established while you are alive.  

It's Revocable because, as long are you are alive and mentally competent, you can change or dissolve the trust at any time, for any reason and at your own discretion.

When you die,  it typically  becomes irrevocable (cannot be changed) and can be written in a way that it will pass your assets on to your beneficiaries immediately upon your death or you can designate how and when it will be portioned out, avoiding the need for probate.

I am not an expert on the subject, but I've seen a lot of sadness and misunderstanding when a loved one has passed, leaving the surviving family emotionally unprepared to deal with the loss. I've seen families torn apart by the bitterness that can ensue from siblings who all of a sudden become like raiders of the lost arc, with all sense of fairness or equal distribution gone out the window and in some cases creating phishers so wide between family members, that they sever those once very tight bonds that held them together never to speak to one another again.  All because of the distribution of Assets after someone passes.   It doesn't have to be this way, and you can remain in control.

 Learn more about this and if it's something you might want to put together now.

Talk to your Estate Planner or Attorney or if you don't have an attorney seek out a Qualified Estate Planner or Trust Attorney. There are plenty of great articles on the subject, and the folks over at AARP do a  great job of publishing informative articles like the one below.  

 Don't let Life take you by surprise, plan ahead for yourself and your loved ones.

AARP Article :

10 Things You Should Know About Living Trusts

More info:

Differences Between Wills & Living Trusts:  http://www.lectlaw.com/filesh/qfl05.htm

Estate Planning and Elder Law in Maine   http://www.maineseniorguide.com/estate-management/elder-law-attorneys/
National Association of Estate Planners  http://www.naepc.org/membership/find-council

Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning    http://www.nhmagazine.com/July-2013-1/Wills-Trusts-and-Estate-Planning/